


The Lost Empire (Title will more than likely be changed later)

by AngelTheFourthDragneelBrother



Category: Trollhunters (Cartoon)
Genre: Anixety, Atlantis AU, Betrayl, Changeling!Steve, Death, Emotional Hurt, Fluff, Graphic descriptions, Hurt/Comfort, Lots of cute little moments, M/M, Merlin is a warning all by himself, Most of the Atlanteans are Changelings, Set is the early 1900s so inevitable homophobia/transphobia, Shock, Some angst cause y'all know me, Steli, Trans Character, Trans Eli, Trauma, Unsafe bindding methods, i don't know how to tag, injuries
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-11-27
Packaged: 2019-07-24 09:35:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 23,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16172435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelTheFourthDragneelBrother/pseuds/AngelTheFourthDragneelBrother
Summary: "Good afternoon gentleman." Elijah began, pushing his glasses up his face yet again. It was obscenely hot and the sweat kept sliding the spectacles down his nose.He had spent months memorizing this speech, countless practices in front of a mirror. "Before we begin, I give my sincerest gratitude to the board for allowing me the chance to present my proposal."We have all heard the story of Atlantis. A forgotten continent located somewhere in the mid-Atlantic that was home to an advanced civilization." His voice sounded even higher pitched to him today, he brushed it off on nerves."It possessed technology that exceeded ours in ways that we could never dream; but according to our friend Plato," he used the pointer to reference to the Philosopher's bust. "It suddenly fell victim to some type of apocalyptic event that sent it to the bottom of the sea before we could see these scientific revolutions for ourselves."





	1. From Within The Boiler Room

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Genderfluid_Lord](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Genderfluid_Lord/gifts).



> SO FIRST OF ALL, BENJI PLEASE DON'T KILL ME FOR ADDING ANOTHER FANFIC TO MY PLATE!  
> It's kind of funny because I'm currently writing his while talking with you through messenger and I'm just fhwsjdnfnfn.  
> So this is obviously a birthday present for you, (sorry for akin so long to upload by the way). I actually got a tiny bit pissed at you when you gifted me with that story because hdfhndjsnmkdnjf damnit that was my idea to give you a story!!! XD This is why I've been asking you all those questions as to "What story would you want me to work on?" Or why I consulted you so heavily on this story. Oh yeah, to readers, Benji definitely helped a LOT during the thought process because my brain is a dumpster fire.  
> This story is BASICALLY Atlantis with the characters from Trollhunters. I try to not make it an EXACT replica but there inevitably will be similarities. The similarities are mostly in the beginning though because of how I change the script towards the middle and end.

  Washington D.C, 1914

   The streets of Washington were filled with people going about their day, a non-stop clamour of carriages, people on street corners calling out the headline of the day's paper, a symphony of sounds clashing into one loud clutter. Refined chaos a best.

  The inside of the museum was the exact opposite. The noise was cut off at the door and inside it was quiet as a tomb with its visitors silently admiring the antique items that were displayed. Men in their Sunday best and women in extravagant dresses and feathered hats took in the fossils and relics of the past. Most probably ignorant to the stories and lost cultures behind these wonderful treasures and just there to lift their snooty noses and silently boast their so called status and class.    

  But there was at least one person who not only recognized but also respected these works. And he was not up with the others merely observing. Oh no, he was studying, learning, and carving paths to find the seemingly impossible. 

  "Good afternoon gentleman." Elijah began, pushing his glasses up his face yet again. It was obscenely hot and the sweat kept sliding the spectacles down his nose.

    He had spent months memorizing this speech, countless practices in front of a mirror. "Before we begin, I give my sincerest gratitude to the board for allowing me the chance to present my proposal.

      "We have all heard the story of Atlantis. A forgotten continent located somewhere in the mid-Atlantic that was home to an advanced civilization." His voice sounded even higher pitched to him today, he brushed it off on nerves.

  "It possessed technology that exceeded ours in ways that we could never dream; but according to our friend Plato," he used the pointer to reference to the Philosopher's bust. "It suddenly fell victim to some type of apocalyptic event that sent it to the bottom of the sea before we could see these scientific revolutions for ourselves. 

  "I know that some of you may be sceptical, 'Atlantis, is just a myth, a fairytale'. But we also think that there's one _true_ Atlantis and that's it's a myth, but some writings refer to it as something that seems almost like the Heaven in today's Bible, o-or the Eden or in the same way- like Hell, although this could be due to the stories of it being underground. On that same note other tribes have depicted it as an underground civilization with inhabits that were not quite human which is one of the reasons why they were so technologically advanced. Other ancient groups described it as a paradise- a Nirvana of sorts. I have reason to believe that all of these locations are actually referring to one very real place because one thing always stayed the same. We’ll get back to that in a moment." 

    Eli brought out a stack of cards and went through them as he spoke. "As the timeline suggests, ten _thousand_ years before the Egyptians built their pyramids, Atlantis was _centuries_ , if not a millennia ahead of them in terms of advancement. Atlantis was said to have electricity, advanced forms of medical treatment, even the very power of _flight_ something that we ourselves have only had for a little over ten years. It seems impossible doesn't it? Well it didn't to them.  

    " **This** is what all of those cultures and depictions agreed about, that Atlantis was a _Utopia_ for science! That this ancient race had a power source so advanced that it made these tales of seemingly fiction possible! A source of energy t-that was more efficient than steam- than coal! Something that was more powerful than our modern internal combustion engines!" Eli ran a hand through his hair and willed himself to calm down.

      He took a deep breath and continued. "Gentlemen, I am proposing that we find that source of energy, that unfathomable power and bring it back up to the surface." While he was no longer raising his voice, Eli did slam his hand against the podium to prove his point. "Imagine what we could create if we combined it with the tools that we already have at our fingertips.

      Eli continued with the cards. "I have here a uh specific passage from a lost book called the Shepard’s Journal, which is said to be the one-and only book about Atlantis told by someone who had actually seen it and therefore holds its exact location." He set the cards down, thankfully not spilling them all over the floor like he had in all of his previous rehearsals, and went over to the mobile chalk board he had at his left, gesturing to the lettering as he went.

    "If one were to translate this centuries old Norse text they would be led to believe that the book is in Ireland." Eli tapped the 'Ireland' where he had written 'Coast of Ireland' with the chalk pointedly.

    He moved from the chalkboard and grunted as he tried lifting up the heavy artefact, deadly afraid of dropping it but Eli had to hold it up for this next part. Well he didn't _have_ to, that was his dramatic flair talking. Eli could barely hold it at the waist level he had it at and thought not for the first time that perhaps some of the time he spent expanding the muscle in his head could be used to expand the muscles in the rest of his body.

      "But! I compared the text to the runes on this Viking-!" for one heart stopping moment the shield almost slipped out of his hands before he regained his grip on it. "Shield." He gasped. "And I found that one of the letters had been mistranslated- a common error especially if one was using twelfth century Norse instead of seventh am I right? A-Anyway, gentlemen, when we replace the letter-"

      Eli took the risk of steadying the shield with one arm to erase the R from Ireland. "And insert the c-correct one, we find that the Journal, the ticket to finding Atlantis, is **_not_** located in Ireland, but," He inserted a C where the R used to reside. "In _Iceland_."

      He looked as proud as he could when he was still struggling with the massive Viking shield. "Pause for dramatic effect." He murmured under his breath and _finally_ set the shield down. Well he tried to set it down, it clambered down rather harshly.

      "I um will be accepting questions from the board now." Eli finished, beaming, pride swelling within him. The phone cut off his special moment. 

   The chalkboard was blocking the way to the desk where the phone laid. Being used to it Elijah just leapt onto the board with all the grace in the world, it tilted back onto his desk, now flat like a bed. 

    Eli snatched up the phone and brought it to his mouth and ear. "Elijah Pepperjack, master Cartographer and Linguist speaking." He said confidently.  

   His ego deflated in under a second at the angry shouting from the other end and he removed the piece from his ear with a wince. "Yes..." He replied meekly, as the voice on the other hand continued to scream abuse. "Yes sir- just- yes. One-one moment, please."

    Eli hung up the earpiece and slid off the chalkboard in shame, it was left creaking and revolving in his momentum. He crossed the floor and clicked on the light. He sighed and trudged to where the 'Board members' sat. His audience was composed of a skeleton, a prop mummy, some old tribal masks that he had saved from being tossed out and an extremely ugly doll of some sort of goblin. All of the so called rubbish had a sense of class since he has given them all top hats.

      He moved the ugly doll with a mumbled apology and fiddled with the gears and knobs of the boiler before whacking it with a wrench in a way that only he could master. The boiler flared to life, the already sweltering boiler room grew even hotter and Eli cringed at the damage that his books had to suffer because of the humidity. Well they weren’t _his_ books but they might as well be by this point.

      Eli quickly crossed the room once more and tossed himself into the chalkboard again to pick up the phone. "How is that? Is that better now?" He knew that it was and so did the voice in the end of the line but the voice continued to scream nonetheless. "Yes sir-it won't happen again sir. Yes- alright."

      "And don't let it happen again!" The angry rant finished with the phone slamming down with a finality that made Eli's ear ring.

      "You're welcome." He muttered even though it was pointless and hung up the phone. He scrunched his eyes shut and sighed. "Game face Pepperjack, today is the day." He whispered to himself, sliding off the board and turning around with a smile as if nothing had happened.

      "Now!" He clapped his hands together and continued with the mock presentation. "As you can see by the map." He pointed to the chalkboard which had the map of Iceland.

      The middle section was erased and had been printed onto his shirt. "Map…uh- the um...that- the map..." Improvise, make it work. He cleared his throat and with it some of the awkward air and stood in the middle of the chalk board and stretched up as far as he could.  

    "As you can see by the map that I have here in the board, I've charted a course that will take me and a crew to the Southern Coast of Iceland where the Journal resides. And depending on how detailed the coordinates of the Journal are is how long it will take us to find Atlantis from there."

    The dusty Cuckoo clock chimed singling that it was four o'clock, a half hour from Eli's scheduled meeting. No more practicing with dummies. This was it. All of his hard work, all of the months- _years_ put into researching and perfecting his theories and information was going to pay off in just thirty short minutes. He gathered an insane number of papers in his arms and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.  

    "This is it." Eli mumbled. His eyes widened and a smile broke out across his face, the reality of the moment registering. "This is it!" He practically squealed. "Showtime! No more boiler rooms! No more being yelled at over the phone! It's finally happening! I'm getting out of here this hellish prison! No offense." He said to the fake audience.

      He twirled around with his papers, stopping in front of the two pictures that always kept him going. 

    In one, his mother's smiling face as a sixteen year old Eli hugged her tightly. This has been taken when he had gotten his acceptance letter into Linguistics school. Photographs were hell to get but it had been a special occasion. Eli had studied non-stop, languages and learning were like a drug to him. He already had a higher than average knowledge of foreign languages but dead languages truly captivated his heart, as did finding out how they died. Studying all those different, diverse cultures. His professors had called him gifted when he first entered the school. By the time he graduated the nicer professors called him obsessed and a madman. But his mother had simply pulled him close, dried his tears and told him that they were just jealous of how he was going to be the one to change the world and not them.

      The other framed photograph he had little memory of. His father, dressed in his full explorers outfit, had Eli on his knee. The man looked somewhat like Eli, dark hair, a ridiculous handlebar moustache that always made him smile, what Eli imagined were green eyes. The black and white photo along with time robbed him of ever truly knowing their real shade.  

    It had been the last photo taken of his father alive.

    He was dressed in what Eli called his 'adventure suit' because he was headed off on an exploration. His father had gone off searching for the very place that Elijah was looking for now. Atlantis. The people that knew him knew this and insisted that Eli was trying to complete his father's failed dream. 

    After his father's accident his newly widowed mother had worked her hardest to make a life for the both of them. She was an inspiration to Eli to say the least. Not many women would be able to do what she did with how the workspace treated them, which was even worse when the men there learned that she was a widow and took it as a free invitation to attempt to woo her. She always made sure that they had enough to eat and a roof over their heads. Even when she had fallen ill herself she still checked in on Eli, making sure that _he_ was alright when he was trying to take care of her.

      Back to the photo of his father since the loss of his mother was still fresh and raw.  

  Besides his adventure suit he also had his pith helmet but Elijah had always loved playing with it and wearing it so his father had taken it off and placed it on his head, telling him to hang onto it till he came back. The hat had been too big for him and sunk down, covering his face and making his father break out laughing. The memory played in his mind like one of those films at the cinema and he smiled.  

    It was a risk having this photograph, Eli knew this. But no one ever came down to the boiler room so no one ever asked who the little girl in the photo was.  

  He moved the frame out of the way and behind it in a simple hat box was his father's pith hat. Soon he would be off on his own adventure too and while he didn't have an adventure suit he did have this. Eli pulled it out of its home and placed it on his head, grinning widely. The hat sunk down and covered his face and Eli deflated. Well that hadn't changed.  

    The messenger tube beside him clunked as a message was delivered. He pushed the pith up his forehead and pulled out the letter, reading it aloud. He really had to get out of this boiler room.

    "'Dear Mr. Pepperjack, this is to let you know that your meeting with the Board today had been moved up from 4:30 pm to 3:30 pm'...what?" He frowned and re-read it. A ton of lead settled in his gut. Surely that couldn't be right. He looked at the clock. It was barely 4:10 he was supposed to meet with them at 4:30. Surely this was a typo. Just a mistake...right?

      A second tube joined the first. He pulled out the letter, heart slamming against his ribcage as he hoped, _prayed_ , that the first letter had just been a mistake on the secretary's behalf.

      "'Dear Mr. Pepperjack due to your absence and therefore lack of professionalism, the board has decided to reject your proposal. Have a nice weekend, Mr. Uhl's office.' The board...no. No."

    All of his work. All of the time that he had spent, researching, practicing, perfecting. All down the drain. Insignificant in less than a second. Everything that he had gone through- all of the ridicules- the laughs - the mocking of both his and his father's name. His throat closed up and the letter was crushed as he clenched his fist. Eli screamed into the empty boiler room.

    "THEY CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!"       

 

      Meanwhile, the board that had screwed him over was coming out of a different meeting that they had scheduled since they had never truly planned on actually following through on listening to Elijah's presentation.  

    "Ah, I swear, Mr. Pepperjack gets crazier and crazier every year." Miss Janet, the board's Secretary sighed. Whether it was out of pity or insult was unknown.   

   "Ha! You're telling me!" Wilbert Lawrence agreed. "If I hear the word 'Atlantis' one more time, I'm stepping front of a bus!" He laughed.  

    "I'll push you!" Mr. Uhl mock shoved him as he swung his umbrella at his side, laughing as well.

    "Mr. Uhl!" Elijah called, racing over with his papers, dropping some as he went. He had grabbed his coat and still wore his pith hat.  

  "Bloody hell! How did he find us already!?" One of the other board members exclaimed. The bastards immediately scattered, running down the halls and into empty rooms. "Miss Janet call security this instant!" Another shouted before entering a room and slamming the door behind him. Soon Mr. Uhl was the only one who wasn't in a locked room. Miss Janet hadn’t moved at all to call security. Perhaps it had been pity after all.

  "Please! Wait!" Eli pleaded. 

    Uhl had the brilliant idea to hide behind a potted plant. "Um, Mr. Uhl?" he moved the plants leaves away and gave a hopeful smile.

    Mr. Uhl returned the smile for a second before he opened the umbrella in from of Eli, causing him to fall, Uhl immediately took the chance to flee. Elijah quickly picked himself up but it took him a few precious seconds to pick up his scattered rolls of papers. Once he got (most) of them off the ground he took off after the board director who was already exiting the museum. Even though it was obviously in vain, Eli continued to beg for him to wait.

      By the time Elijah was out of the museum Uhl was already in the automobile and yelling at his driver to start the blasted vehicle. Eli almost tripped and fell down the stairs in his haste but he got there right on time.  

     "Mr. Uhl! Stop!" Eli shouted, practically slamming into the car door.

    His ribs hurt more than he had ever thought possible, he couldn't get enough air and black spots teased the corner of his vision. To onlookers it would just appear that Eli was out of shape, Eli knew better with how every breath just tightened the cloth python. He pushed away his discomfort and pushed his papers into the car window. "C-can you hold this real quick? Thanks." There was no time for his carefully planned presentation, straight to the point then. He opened one of the maps- not that Uhl could see it with all of Eli's other papers on top of him. "I have new evidence that can-"

    "MR. PEPPERJACK!" Uhl shouted at him, dumping all of his papers back out the window. "The museum and the board funds expeditions based on facts and scientific evidence! **_Not_** bed time stories and other fairy tales!"  

    Eli immediately shrunk down. "But-!"  

  "And anyway, we need you here." Uhl coaxed. 

  "You- you do?" He asked, perking up a bit.  

  "Of _course_ we do! After all, winter is coming soon and that boiler is going to need a lot of extra attention."

    "Boiler?" Eli repeated, more than a little insulted. 

  The engine reeved to life and Uhl immediately shouted at his driver. "Onward! Take me away from this madman!" The driver followed his demand and pulled out from the front of the museum.  

    Eli ignored the way that his skin screamed from the far too tight bandages, ignored how his ribs and lungs felt like they were wrapped in barbed wire and ran after the car, papers tucked securely under his arm. Some people on the sidewalk were staring at his display but he didn't care. Eli had set up a professional and civilized meeting and the board has refused to follow through. He _had_ to get his point across, he _needed_ this expedition. He couldn't stay in the boiler, he couldn't. It wasn't what his father, his mother, it wasn't what _he_ had worked so hard and desperately for. He didn’t have anything else left. He needed this.    

    "Mr. Uhl - please!" He called into the open car window, running alongside. "There's a- journal! In - in Iceland! I'm certain - that it- has coordinates- for-" he spoke in between pants and gasps for air. Uhl ignored him and shut the window blind, blocking him from his vision altogether.  

    Eli grit his teeth. Alright. He didn't want to listen to him the easy way? Let's do this. Could it appear petty or pathetic? Definitely. Did Eli care? Not at this point.

      He took a deep breath and ran quicker, gaining momentum on the car and passing it a bit before he **threw** himself across the hood with an ugly thud. Hopefully they wouldn't bill him for that.  

    Mr. Uhl looked at him as if Eli were insane and Elijah knew that he must look pretty mad, splayed on the hood like that. No matter he rummaged in his coat pocket and pulled out a letter that he had honestly been carrying for over a year. "Mr. Uhl, I _really_ hoped that I wouldn't have to do this-!" The car swerved and he was almost tossed off. "This is a letter of resignation, if you refuse to even _listen_ to my proposal, I will have no choice but to-" the impatient driver turned on the window shield wipers and with a well times swerve Eli was knocked off. The pith hat was the only thing that kept him from hitting his head too hard on the side walk.

      " **I'LL QUIT!** " He screamed after the goddamn vehicle, the fury in his voice showing that he was not even remotely bluffing.  

    Miracles of miracles the car stopped and even began to reverse its way back to him. Eli tore off the hat, shaking with both anger and fatigue and close to vomiting. He had tried to be civil and professional but he was **done**. He fired off as soon as Uhl's window was before him. 

  "I'm serious! I set up an actual, legitimate meeting which you people agreed to and **you** were the ones who refused to give me even a **minute** of your time!" Eli spat. "If you refuse to listen to my proposal -!"

    "You'll what, Elijah?! You'll _what_?!" Uhl snapped. "Cry and whine and make a show until you get your way and throw your life away chasing after fairy tales like your father?! Huh?!"  

    Eli saw red at that remark but punching a member of the board wouldn't get his expedition funded. No matter how badly he wanted to. "I can _prove_ that Atlantis exists!" He insisted, shaking a map at Uhl like it was a fist.  

    "You want to go explore?" Uhl asked. He flicked a coin at Eli like he was spitting at him. "Take a trolley downtown, go to the harbour and jump in! Maybe the cold water will wash those insane ideas out of your skull! Driver, onward!"

    This car ran over a puddle on the way out and drenched Eli from head to toe from where he sat on the sidewalk. He cursed under his breath and quickly closed his coat. The white, button up shirt became see through with the water and Eli had already been exposed enough for one day. After fastening the buttons on his coat, double checking them at least three times, he picked up the pith hat and tucked it under his arm, letting out a sigh that sounded like a choked sob. Eli scrunched his eyes shut and pressed the heels of his palms as if that would physically push back the tears he longed to let out. It was failing miserably.

      "Deep breaths, deep breaths." Eli gasped, still struggling to actually get some air in his body.  

  He didn't know how long he stayed seated there but when he got up his legs were a mess of pins and needles and the sky had grown dark and angry and threatened to burst any minute. Numb, and working on autopilot, Eli picked up the rolls of papers next to him and started retracing his steps, picking up the papers that he had dropped along the way like Hansel and Gretel following the trail of breadcrumbs. It didn't come to him as a surprise that no one else has picked up the papers. He couldn't get the papers that were inevitably in the museum floor because it was already closed up for the night.  

    Arms full, he trudged back home, defeated and wanting to curl up with his car and just sleep. Maybe read if he regained some feeling. Cry for a while if he really felt shitty- which he did. Lightening and rain broke loose when he reached his home, as if waiting for Eli to be undercover. Even the sky had pity on him.  

    Skip the book, he was exhausted and it weighed on his shoulders as he opened the door. "Goblin? Come here kitty, I need cuddles." He called, basically whined, voice hoarse from yelling and crying. 'I could use your claws to cut these bandages off me.' He added silently. 

  He pulled the lamp cord to get some sort of light at the end of the tunnel only to get a clicking noise and nothing else. He tried it a few more times and got the same result. He scoffed. Typical. A bit too late he got the feeling that he wasn't alone.

    A strike of lightening- startlingly close- lit up the room and confirmed his suspicions. There was a woman in the middle of his living room. Shoulder length raven hair and an equally black dress and green eyes that seemed to glow in the dark, piercing through him. Eli was too tired for this bullshit. Where was his cat?  

    "Elijah Leslie Pepperjack?" She asked- pretty much purred with her velvety smooth voice.

      Eli hid the flinch that came with hearing that second name. "Who are you?" He demanded. "Did you do something to my cat? How- how did you get in here? D-do I need to call the cops?" He was seriously going to pass out if he didn't get these bandages off soon.  

  "I came down the chimney~ ho, ho, ho." Eli was no convinced that the lady was insane, it wasn't even winter yet. "My name is Morgana de Le Fay." she made herself comfortable in Eli's chair.  

  "Now see- see- at least half of your name has to be an alias." She actually looked surprised that he had caught that. "De Le Fay, meaning of the Fairy? I may spend most of my time in a boiler room but I'm not completely uncultured. I mean that could be your last name but kind of unlikely don’t you think?"  

    The surprise wore off and was replaced with a smirk. "Very perceptive of you Mr. Pepperjack. I'm acting on behalf of my employer who has a very interesting proposal for you. Are you interested?"  

    "Yo-your employer?" Eli was now stuttering out of confusion rather than fear. "Who is your employer?"    

  "Care to find out?" She coaxed, getting up from the seat and slinking over. Elijah immediately tensed and tightened his grip on his papers. Mogana chuckled. "Relax." She walked past him, opened the front door and paused. "Are you coming?" 

    "You break into my house, scare the ever living bejibbers out of my, use a fake name, speak in completely vague sentences that make absolutely no sense and you expect me to follow you?" Eli tried to not scoff.  

  "Elijah, you're a smart man, son of an explorer, when an explorer has questions, so they sit around and ask them or do they go out and find the answers themselves?"

      He...he really couldn't argue with that logic. He sighed and ignored his screaming ribs, only a tiny bit louder than his instincts screaming at him. And if he ended up murdered in some seedy back alley- well it wasn't as if his day could get worse anyway.    

 

  Eli watched with wide eyes as the car pulled up to an extravagant house, no this was a mansion, and he immediately felt out of place. The courtyard was huge and the building itself had to be as big as the museum if not more so and someone actually _lived_ here. Did someone actually need this much space or was the house merely to intermediate? What sort of employer was this? Questions buzzed in his head but none left his lips as he didn't dare to speak.

      It was still raining but Morgana paid it no mind as she slipped out of the car with elegance and confidence that Eli could only dream of having. Eli scrambled out of the care and went into a little half jog to catch up.    

   She was already walking down the carpet of the main entrance when Eli stumbled on through the front door, pulling his coat tighter against himself and making sure that it was buttoned...again.   

  "This way, quickly please." She said, snapping her fingers and making Eli jump a bit. He picked up his pace and followed after her. "Try not to drip on the carpet, it's not something that can be replaced by someone on the museum's salary."  

  Morgana entered a lift at the end of the hall and Eli followed suite. She shut the elevator doors and the lift began its slow ascend. She immediately began fussing, trying to get his hair in order. When she moved to unbutton Eli's coat he could not help but jump back and push her hands away. She quirked an eyebrow and instead fixed the coats collar but no longer tried to remove the wet garment.  

    "You will address him as Mr. Gandigal or Sir, Professor is also acceptable." She spoke pointedly as she worked. "You will do well to not waste his time, keep your sentences brief, to the point and don't stammer. Stand up straight, don't slouch and maintain eye contact. If it looks fragile it is, don't touch. If it looks expensive it is, don't touch. If it looks like shouldn't be touched, it shouldn't, don't touch."  

    Eli gulped at the overabundance of rules and would have asked a question but the elevator reached the top and the lift doors were opened.

    "And relax~" she purred, pushing him out. He stumbled forward and turned around to face her. Morgana closed the lift doors, separating them. "He doesn't bite... often." The elevator started going down and she was soon out of sight. 

    Elijah adjusted his glasses and his mouth opened in a silent gasp as he got a clear look of the room. Mountains after mountains of books filled that space, the shelves were fit to bursting too. The nearest stack reached just to his hip, no doubt the shortest out of all of them and he ran a finger over the top. His finger came back clean which meant that the owner didn't just have them out here on display, it meant the books were actually read. And Eli immediately longed to read them too. He weaved through the lumps of literature, careful not to knock any stacks over and looked in awe at all of the titles.

  One stack in particular called his attention with its titles featuring different Indian tribe names. Native American artefacts were among the first that Eli got to handle at the museum, mainly when they were deemed 'boring' and moved down to the boiler for storage. The humid, hot temperature wreaked havoc on the aged paints and wood. Completely forgetting about the 'Don't touch' rule, Eli grabbed a book off the top of this stack and held it as carefully as one would a child. After looking over the books over and running his thumb over the worn spine Eli cracked the book open.  

    "Ah, interesting choice."  

     Elijah barely kept himself from crashing back into the tower of books, although he did do an awkward little half dance as he moved back, careful to not knock the stack over even in his surprise.   

   "Blinkious Gandigal, but my friends call my Blinky, you are free to do so as well." The man introduced himself, holding out a hand in offering. He was dressed fatherly plainly for someone who lived in such a place. He had a light blue button up shirt, dark blue tie, jacket, vest and pants, all in slightly different shades of brown and regular dress shoes. His hair was thinning on top but still a rich black colour. He was shorter than Eli (a miracle for someone as tiny as Elijah), wider as well.  

  "My uh my-" Eli quickly shook his hand, realizing that it had been out for longer than he should have left him hanging. "Elijah Pepperjack at your service."

    "I should hope so," Blinky chuckled. "Seeing how I sent for you specifically."  

   "Yes ah, about that-"  

  "Have you seen my spectacles?" Blinky cut him off all of a sudden.  

   "P-pardon?"  

  "My glasses! Honestly, I'm always losing them and my eyesight is so horrible that I wouldn't be able to see properly even if I had multiple sets of eyes!" Blinky sighed in exasperation. "Help me find them." He added before looking around himself.

    Elijah blinked a few times but started looking as well. He had no clue what Mr. Gandigal's- what _Blinky's_ glasses looked like but then again he had no idea what was even going on either. He set the book back into the top of the stack and moved through the others, getting on his tiptoes to see if they were on top of a pile. He didn't find the glasses like that but he did find that there was actually furniture in between the mountains. There was a fireplace with books irresponsibly close to it, some chairs in front of that and further away a long table with a chair at each end.  

    He also spotted a large portrait above the fireplace, his view was obscured by books. Eli decided to check if the glasses were on the fireplace mantel. They weren't but now that he could see the painting clearly he couldn't help the gasp that escaped his lips.  

    "Father?"  

    "Hm? Oh!" Blinky made his way over to where Eli stood in shock. "Yes, your father was quite possibly the most brilliant man that I ever had the pleasure of knowing."  

  "I- you knew my father?" Eli asked, somewhat sceptical.  

  "Of course! He was nuttier than a rabid squirrel- then again that's probably why we got along so well. He talked about you all the time."

    Eli was too confused and tired to process the warning signs that Blinky's sentence set off. "Oh, he uh he never mentioned you- then again I was pretty young so I probably don't remember." He quickly added, not wanting to offend the man.  

  "He probably didn't, I keep such a low profile that I'm practically underground, he knew this and respected that." Blinky said even though the house he lived in was anything but low profile. "Anyway, I'm getting side tracked, I must find my glasses." He dropped to the floor, looking at the bottom of the stacks of books in his search. "Oh! And before I forget, he left something for you, it's on that table."

   Eli couldn't keep the look of surprise off his face as he approached said table. "My father?" He asked, as if it was some sort of mistake. 

   Blinky was now checking underneath the table. "Yes, he said that I should give that to you when you were ready. Not entirely sure how he meant that, either age or experience wise." 

   There was a wrapped package on the table, no inscription or anything flashy, just wrapped in plain brown paper. Eli tore off the wrapping revealing a little leather journal. It looked completely ordinary save for the signa on the front that made Eli's heart stop before it picked up twice as fast. "Oh my God." His voice trembled as he opened the book with shaking hands. The foreign language was one that he immediately recognized. The drawings and pictations were further proof. This book…it was 

  "The Shepard's Journal." Elijah whispered as if uttering the name aloud would cause it to disappear.

   "What, is it a good read?" Blinky asked.

   "No, this- this is the Shepard's Journal- the KEY to finding Atlantis- I- I've spent my whole career-" Eli stammered, still in shock and wondering just how badly he had hit his head when he had jumped onto the car that afternoon.  

  "Atlantis, ha!" Blinky hit his head against the bottom of the table trying to get out. He looked at Eli sympathetically as if he had to tell a little kid the truth about Santa Claus. "Surely you know that Atlantis is only a story."

   "No, it’s not." Elijah said firmly. "This book proves it. Written in it is-" 

   "Is gibberish." Blinky cut him off once more. "The whole book is gibberish and I don't need my glasses to see that." He said looking at the pages.

    Eli was getting tired of saying the word no. "No, it’s just written in a language that is no longer used. A language that far exceeds-" 

   "So it's in a dead language that-ah!" Blinky patted down his pockets and pulled out his lost spectacles. "Finally! So it’s in a useless dead language." 

   "It's not useless to me, I've dedicated my career to the study of dead languages. It's all here, coordinates, clues written down that if properly deciphered show the exact location of the lost city of Atlantis."

    Blinky slipped on his glasses and took another look at the page and letting out a huff of air. He sat down at the end of the table. "Say this is some sort of encyclopaedia for a magical lost city, what do you want to do with it?"  

    "I-I'll obviously need funding for an expedition, a crew- the museum!" Eli has planned out how he would find the book but now that he actually had it his head was left spinning as he thought of what to do next. "I'll go to the museum to get funding and-!"

    "They'll never listen to you." Blinky scoffed.

    "I have this!" Eli gestured to the book clutched against his chest. "With this I can show them, I can _make_ them believe now that I have-!"  

  "They'll say that it's a fake, after all it might be. The board could easily say that you were so desperate for funding that you forged it to force their hand. After all, you did throw yourself in front of a car to try and get funding so what's a bit of forging?" He pointed out.   

    Eli grit his teeth. "I would **_never_** forge something like this, that would go against my beliefs and morals, my father's beliefs, and everything that explorers and scientists everywhere stand for. Wait how did you know-" Well a lot of people saw that spectacle, who’s to say that Blinky hadn't been in the crowd.

  "Forget it." Eli waved it off. "I don't need to relay on the museum for this, I **_will_** find Atlantis myself, whether I get the funding to do it or if I have to swim to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean to do it!" He slammed his palm against the table.

    A silence stretched between them and Eli was counting all of the ways that he had fucked up before Blinky gave him a wide grin.

    "Congratulations Pepperjack, this is precisely what I was looking for- this drive- this energy- museums your father got me to go along with so many of his crazy schemes. But forget swimming there kid, roulette traveling in style." 

   He pushed a red button on his corner of the table that Eli had not noticed and the table made an odd clicking noise before a small platform rose from it. The platform contained miniature models of jeeps, ships, hot air balloons, diggers and the most advanced deep sea exploration vehicle that Eli had ever seen.

  "What?" Eli asked, voice barely a whisper.  

  "Everything is set up and ready to go Eli. That trip that you were worried about funding? It's ready, it's all taken care of." Blinky beamed.  

    Realization hit Elijah as shockingly clearly and loud as the lightening from the thunderstorm raging outside. "You funded my father's trip." It wasn't a question. His father’s quest for funding had gone much like his own, a dead end at every turn. And then one day he had come home with the news of an anonymous donor.

    Blinky's smile faltered. "Yes, I did. Your father, he was brilliant, truly he was. Like you he tried being finding from the museum and like you they rejected his ideas time and time again and he kept babbling to me about it so one day I tell him, I said 'Listen here Pepperjack, I'll bite, if you find that journal not only will I fund your entire expedition but any other future ones as well." He got up from the chair and walked over to the fireplace to look at the painting, his expression a battle of fondness and grief. "And since he's gone, God rest his soul, and you're taking over his search it seemed only appropriate to fund yours as well." 

  He smiled and pointed at the painting. "You hear that Pepperjack! I'm keeping my end of the bargain! Never let it be said that I don't keep my word!" He chuckled before he let his shoulders drop with a sigh. Eli was almost thankful that he couldn't see the man's face from where he stood.

    "Your father…" Blinky sighed. "That accident shouldn't have happened. All of the equipment was safe- state of the art. I-I don't know, perhaps if I had gone along with him things would have been different. Or if he'd had more crew with him-. It shouldn't have happened. And even worse after it did the museum just took the chance to smear mud onto a dead man's name."

      Eli bit the inside of his cheek, looking down at the floor. "Mr. Gandigal, my father knew the risks. You made it as safe as you could have since anyone else funding him would have cheaped on precautionary measures and something would have happened even before he got to the journal. It's because of you that I have it now. "  

    "Yes..." Blinky cleared his throat and clapped his hands, turning back to Eli. "So! Speaking of that journal we should put it to good use!"   

  "Yes!" Eli agreed whole heartedly. "So of course I'll need a crew with engineers a-and geologists and-"

    "Already taken care of, we have the best of the best. But first." He pulled out a pair of sharp scissors from his pocket and handed them to Eli.    Elijah looked at Blinky in confusion. Did he expect him to do a blood packet or something? 

   "You don't have to pretend anymore, Leslie." Blinky reassured. Eli froze and he face paled. "I told you that your father spoke of you often, of course I know who you really are. I can only imagine what disguising yourself to be able to pursue your fathers work must have been like but I assure you that the crew will not care. You no longer have to constrict yourself like you currently are." 

   "I…uh I…" Eli's throat was closed off and he couldn't force the words out. For once his trouble breathing was not due to his binded chest.  

   "Leslie, is everything alright? You look pale."   

  Eli licked his lips. "Have you…have you told the crew?" 

    "Of course not, I wasn't one hundred certain that you would even agree to the voyage in the first place." 

   "I'm…" Eli chewed the inside of his cheek. Was what he wanted to say worth it? After all, Blinky could tear down any hope of Eli's expedition in a second. But the same way that Eli had stated how he would never forge the journal, if he didn't tell Blinky about this- about him- didn't it fall under the same category of lying as forging an artefact would? He would be lying about his own authenticity. The next words tasted like bile in his throat. He scrunched his eyes shut. "I'm not Leslie."


	2. Who Are You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Silence stretched between them and Eli dared to open an eye, Blinky was looking at him with an unreadable expression. "Then who are you?" Blinky asked. Eli opened his mouth to answer but he was cut off. "I specifically sent for the daughter of Theodore Pepperjack! So who are you and why are you staying at where I was sure that she was staying?!" He looked like he was going to call security.  
> Oh. Oh crap- that- Blinky had not understood what he meant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M ALIVE, I'M ALIVE I'M ALIVE!

   Silence stretched between them and Eli dared to open an eye, Blinky was looking at him with an unreadable expression. "Then who are you?" Blinky asked. Eli opened his mouth to answer but he was cut off. "I specifically sent for the daughter of Theodore Pepperjack! So who are you and why are you staying at where I was sure that she was staying?!" He looked like he was going to call security.

    Oh. Oh crap- that- Blinky had not understood what he meant.

  "No I mean I _was_ Leslie but I'm not anymore! I - I don't dress like this and go by Elijah because I'm trying to get ahead in my career, I wear it because I want to- because it's me!" Eli stammered and struggled to explain himself.

    "I-In that Indian book I was reading! There are accounts of people born as men who switch to a female life! I-I'm the opposite? I don't know how to explain it myself but I don't want to lie and say that I'm Leslie when I'm not- anymore I mean."

      Blinky's face switched from anger, to confusion to expressionless. "Let me see if I have this right. You _were_ Leslie, but you're not anymore." Eli nodded. "But you **are** the d-child of Theodore Pepperjack?" He nodded once more.

    "I'm sorry I just- I couldn't let you think that I was when I'm not because to me I would be like what you were saying of the museum accusing me of forging the journal. I'm not the same person my father told you about-a-at least not in _that_ way." Eli couldn't stop twisting his fingers together and looking at the ground. He should have just stayed quiet. He shouldn't have brought it up. He should have just taken every stabbing blow that hearing his old name brought. Now this whole expedition - his father's life work was in danger because he didn't keep his mouth shut.

    And he still didn't. "I don't know how to explain it, I don't know _why_ I dress and act like I do, it isn't to get ahead- even though you are right on the account of women suffering more in the workplace, my own mother did but-" Elijah chewed on his lip. "I just do it because it's painful when I don't. I thought I was so strange until I found a book mentioning those tribes and it still isn't normal to our times I had that-that _validation_ that maybe I wasn't crazy for feeling that way."

  Eli was sure that his fingers would break with how much he was twisting them. "And I know that this might disgust you, and I wouldn't blame you but I had to tell you because...because you said that this expedition was for _me_ , for _me_ to continue my father's work and I don't want you thinking that I'm the me that I was rather than the one I am now."

    More silence. Eli's heart was slamming against his ribs like it was trying to break free and fly away.

      "I've heard about those tribes that you mentioned." Blinky said all of a sudden. Eli's gaze shot up to him.

"I always found it incredibly fascinating, the freedom that they had before the European explorers came and forced their customs on them." Blinky continued. "Although there are usually only counts of the originally male members of the tribe sometimes switching their life for a female one. Imagine if we still had that, the diversity they had of dressing in opposite appearal and sometimes switching our whole lives around. Although I don't think I would be able to dress in women's apparel so easily with all of those heavy fabrics even if I would undoubtedly look very lovely."

      That brought a smile to Eli's face. "But I cannot allow you to wear those bandages across your chest." Eli's smile fell.

      "Elijah, look at yourself, you can hardly breathe and I cannot have you passing out during this mission! Goodness gracious lad! Have some common sense! We are finding you a safer way to have your front looking how you want it to but without the bandages." Blinky insisted.

    "Wait, you can do that?" Eli gaped.

    Blinky chuckled. "Really, if they can make a corset to shrink a woman's waist then surely we can find something for you that works in such a way _without_ grinding your ribs to dust. Now." Blinky clapped his hands. "As I have said, I have gathered a crew, experts in their respective fields."

      He pulled out some files and spread them across the table. Somehow the way that Blinky switched from topics so easily made Eli want to cry. From happiness.

  "Tobias Domsalski, expert geologist and master of excavation; he can tell everything about you from the dirt under your fingernails. NotEnrique, demolitions, won't give any name other than that, which is understandable considering how his knowledge of explosives freed him from a Turkish prison. Claire Nuñez, chief medical officer, trained for years in a mix of practices. James Lake Junior, engineering, he knows more about motors than you and I ever will. This-"

    He struck his palm flat against the table. "Is the best team that could ever hope of being assembled, they're part of the head team that retrieved the journal."

      "Let me guess," Elijah could hardly keep up and he could hardly keep the grin off his face. "It was in Iceland."

    Blinky nodded and didn't even look surprised, already knowing that the child of Theodore would have figured that out. "But we are missing something. A linguist, someone who can make sense of that lost language. So Elijah," he paused to look him dead in the eye. "Here you have a choice. You can build on the foundation that your father left you, or you can go back to the museum."

      Why was Mr. Gandigal giving him a choice? The answer was obvious! "I'm your man!" Eli proclaimed. "When should this be ready? How many years will this take?"

      "Years." Blinky laughed. "Dear boy, you'll be shipping off in a _day_ , three at most."

    Eli gaped. "A-a **DAY**?!" he repeated.

    "Or three at most. We do have to get you to a seamstress after all. This has been underway for a long time you were merely the last piece of a puzzle that is now falling neatly into place."

      "I'll -I'll have to quit my job." Elijah gasped, now pacing, legs trying to keep up with his train of thought. Everything was moving so quickly! From Mr. Gandigal sending for him, to the journal just falling into his lap, to Blinky just accepting who he was and moving on not two seconds after to the trip that was going to take place in less than a week! Eli was expecting to wake up in the sidewalk any minute now to find that he had indeed passed out from lack of oxygen, that some medics were taking care of him and that he'd be discovered and go to jail for alleged impersonation.

    "Didn't you resign this morning?" Blinky reminded.

    Oh. Oh right. Had he? Hadn't he merely threatened to? "I'll need to notify my landlord." He continued down his mental list verbally.

    "That's taken care of, I don't like loose ends."

   "Well I still need to pack! My clothes, my books need to go into storage!"

   "It's been handled." Blinky reassured.

   "My cat." Elijah said, almost in defeat. What hadn't Mr. Gandigal thought of? As if on cue, Goblin was there at his feet, rubbing against his leg and purring contentedly. "Oh my God…wait. You never expected me to say no, did you?"

  "Guilty as charged." He admitted. "Why would you?"

   Mr. Gandigal did have a point there. Oh God. Oh **God**! This was happening! It was- it was-! "I'm going to faint." Eli informed him, calmly, happily even.

    And then he did just that.

 

   Elijah L. Pepperjack stood at the bow of a ship taking him to to the port where he would find a different ship-an entirely different class of machinery all together- to take him on his journey. He took a deep breath of the salty air, looking at the sea like a king looking over their subjects, eyes steely like a man on a mission.

   Before vomiting over the side of the ship for about the fourth time. Miraculously his stomach still had food to heave up. Or his own seasickness was playing tricks on his eyes and he was dry heaving at this point because he was vomiting things that he didn't even remember eating. "Let me off this thing." He groaned under his breath, not meaning a word of it. Elijah was fairly certain that he was still in a state of shock, if not still dreaming.

   The burning in his throat was the only thing that proved it wasn't a dream. Although it was a dream come true.

    Eli wiped at his mouth, slightly disgusted with his weak stomach at this point. He took another deep breath, filling his lungs and letting it out slowly. At least he could breathe somewhat properly. That seamstress, some young woman with pretty red glasses and short hair truly was a God send. It was almost like a modified version of a corset, made specifically for his chest and so, so much more comfortable than the wraps he had been using. But his brain kept tricking him and telling me that it was obvious to anyone who saw him.

    Strangely enough, here, on the bow of the ship where everyone could see him, that voice was drowned out. He was calm, felt as if he could fly. It was a wondrous feeling, one that he had not experienced in so long, the last time that he had felt this way was when his father had first announced his trip. Eli's hands went to his neck, feeling the cord of the pendant that Mr. Gandigal had gifted him with, as if he hadn't given him enough. The necklace was thin, dainty and gold, at the end was a simple small round ornament but if he opened it then it was the same picture that Eli had kept in the boiler room.

    Blinky had apologized, saying that it was the only photo he had of Eli and Theodore but Eli had quickly said that it was fine. True, looking at the photo was bittersweet as he couldn't help but wonder what his father would say if he could see him now. But at the same time it was this photo that had motivated him up until now.

  He looked down at the book in his hands. Eli couldn't remember setting it down since he had gotten it, as if afraid that it would disappear. It was fairly simple, leather bound, with a foreign insignia written in gold. Elijah couldn't hold back a smile as he traced that little gold letter, loving its meaning. Atlantis.

      The ship's horn blared, making Eli jump and upsetting his momentarily calm stomach again. He swallowed down the urge to vomit again. That horn meant that it was time to dock.

    Elijah reshouldered his duffle bag, cursing it for being the most practical bag that he owned. It was practical for carrying the most things but highly impractical to carry around.

    He lost track of time in a flurry of crew members barking orders as he was directed where to go. Things were in constant motion around him. Crates of supplies being transported, more crew members than he would have originally guessed, trucks and other vehicles moving more people and supplies to different places. When he finally got a chance to breathe and gather his wits he was greeted with the smiling face of Mr. Gandigal and someone else who he did not recognize, at least not personally but his face seemed a tad familiar. No doubt from one of the profiles that Blinky had shown him.

    "And I thought that I was obsessed with finding Atlantis but this-" Eli paused to marvel everything around him. "Mr. Gandigal, this goes beyond my wildest dreams."

    "Yes, well, only the best for the son of Theodore." Blinky said with a fond smile. "Your father had a saying, that 'Our lives are remembered by the gifts we leave our children', that notebook was his gift to you and with it he left his legacy."

    Okay. Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry. He was going to look like a huge loser if he burst into tears right now. Eli couldn't speak past the lump in his throat so he simply nodded in response.

    "Oh, and this is Lieutenant Merlin Culus, he accompanied your father on the trip to Iceland." Blinky introduced.

   "It's-It's an honour to meet you." Eli said, shaking the man's bony hand. The man was very slimy built, almost like a skeleton, features wrinkled as they were carried an expression so stern it was like he had been born with it, and appeared to be of military background if the way he carried himself said anything. He had white hair, probably older than Blinky, skin pale and somewhat ashy looking, and cold dead blue eyes. He wore an army type suit, dark green and decorated with badges and stars on the front showing his rank. On the left sleeve was that same 'A' looking symbol that the book had. Elijah's jacket had the same symbol on the left shoulder sleeve.

   "An absolute pleasure to meet the son of Theodore Pepperjack. The honour is mine." His voice did indeed belong to an older gentleman but he squeezed Eli's hand just a bit too tightly as if he was only a few years older than him.

   Elijah cleared his throat to speak again but someone bumped into him, causing him to jump and spin around. There was a…child, by the looks of it, a child smoking a cigar and carrying crates.

  "Oi," he definitely didn't _sound_ like a child. "If you're looking for the kiddie rides, they're back there."

   "NotEnrique," Blinky sounded exasperated. "What did I say about playing nice with others?"

   NotEnrique grumbled some sort of response. Eli noticed something had fallen out of the crate and picked it up. "Excuse um S-Sir? You dropped your-" he looked down at what he held. "Dy-Dy-Dynamite…Ah…I take it that you're the the demolition expert...I hope."

    "You hope." NotEnrique repeated with a smirk and he took the dynamite that he definitely had not dropped on purpose for the sole purpose of freaking the boy out.

   "Yeah…uh what else do you have in there?" He asked.

   "Wicks, glue, nitroglycerin, gunpowder, black powder, paper clips, big ones. You know just office supplies." He grinned around the cigar. and

   "NotEnrique I am not paying you handsomely to stand there and scare the one who will be guiding you on this expedition." Blinky said, apparently not at all concerned of the lit cancer stick around the box of explosives.

    "OH WAIT THIS-!" NotEnrique exclaimed. "You're that huge dorkasaurus that Blinks here hired to read the book?!"

   "He didn't hire me per say, I volunteered to go. I mean he's already funding this expedition, he doesn't need to pay me to go, the val of what we're going to learn is enough." Elijah said.

   "Oh God, enough! You're killing me quicker than the smoking is!" NotEnrique groaned, carrying his crates up into the large submarine.

    Elijah blinked a few times before turning to Blinky, a question on his lips. "Don't ask." Blink sighed. Eli's mouth snapped shut. "You'll find that some of these crew members are...interesting to say the least. But I didn't hire them for some of their charming personalities, I hired them because they're the best in their field. So while some are a bit odd, rest assured that you're among the best of their fields." Blinky checked his watch. "And now it's time to bid you farewell and good luck on your voyage." He held his hand out.

    He made it sound like Eli was just going on vacation. Elijah smiled and couldn't resist anymore. Screw professionalism. He grabbed Blinky's hand and pulled him into a tight embrace. "Thank you. So, so much." Don't cry. Don't cry.

    Blinky sighed and returned the hug, patting him on the back. "Alright Eli, don't go getting sentimental over my ancient butt, go on, make us proud."

    Eli broke the hug and nodded eagerly, half walking, half sprinting to the boat, a noticeable spring in his step. "Bye Mr. Gandigal! See you soon!"

    Blinky smiled and nodded. He turned to Merlin. "I trust you to keep him safe Culus." He said sternly.

    "Oh don't worry, he is in safe hands." Merlin promised.

 

 

    The ship was even bigger on the inside and Elijah was just counting all the ways that he could get lost. He spotted a woman nearby, back turned to him and short black hair. Maybe he could get some directions there. Oh how ridiculous he was going to look asking for directions when he was the one who was going to be directing the crew during this expedition. He swallowed down his anxiety and walked over, tapping her on the shoulder. "Uh e-excuse me, where um I'm a bit lost, do you know where my sleeping quarters are?"

    "Certainly Mr. Pepperjack." She said, velvet voice that had Eli realizing who he was talking to before she even turned around.

    "Ah!" He jumped back. "You're the woman who broke into my house!"

    "Oh, 'broke into' is such an unsavoury way to put it, I prefer 'surprise visit'." Morgana smirked.

    "Morgana!" A heavy but strongly built man called from next to a stack of crates. "What's this?!" He asked curiously, sniffing at a head of lettuce.

    "Excuse me." She said, voice dripping with false sweetness before she scowled and turned to the man. She took a deep breath and willed herself to be patient with the man. "That's a _vegetable_ , Aarghmount, it's called lettuce."

    "Lettuce." Aargh repeated. Eli looked at him, obviously intrigued. The man's hair was a very odd colour, one that reminded him of moss and he had tattoos running down his arms that were absolutely exquisite.

    "Yes, lettuce Mr. Kubera, not everyone can eat like you do, they need the five basic food groups." She explained.

    "Five basic food groups..."

    "You know, fruits, vegetables..." Morgana willed him to continue her list.

      "Lard."

      She sighed. She knew that the man hadn't been hired for his skill in the kitchen but still. "No, Aarghmount," she began to explain the good groups to him and why each one was important while Aargh carefully paid attention.

    "I'll uh just ask someone else." Eli said, more to himself than anything as she explained. He backed away from the little lesson and turned to find someone else to help him.

    The speakers were filled with constant chatter of how they were now launching, along with their latitude, longitude, anticipated depth. The vessel shook and Eli almost lost his balance. They were definitely launching. Hopefully he wouldn't get seasick again. He quickly pushed that unwanted thought away.

    Elijah spotted NotEnrique but he wasn't exactly rooting for another confrontation so he ducked his head and quickly walked past, book held firmly against his chest, insignia pressing against his heart. He chewed his lip. He was really supposed to be checking in with Merlin by now but he had to find his room to leave his bags. Plus he was exhausted, adrenaline already wearing off and Eli just wanted five minutes of peace and quiet.

    "Are you lost?" Someone asked, tapping him on the shoulder and making him jump out of his skin for what? The third time that day? The source of the voice was a young woman with short dark hair held back with hair clips large, doe like brown eyes, and fair skin. She wore a pair of plain, a white coat tat proved that she indeed held the title of doctor and a pristine purple turtleneck. Her boots were surprisingly clean as well. She quirked an eyebrow at his reaction.

    "Er- yes." He tried lowering his voice a touch. "Do you know where sleeping quarters D-16 are?"

    "Back that way, take a left, follow that down till you pass three hallway openings then take the fourth one on the right and that'll take you to area D, after that it's just a matter of finding the room with the number sixteen on it." She explained.

    "Thank you," he signed in relief. "Oh uh I'm Elijah by the way. You're Miss. Nuñez right?"

    "Please, call me Claire. And don' worry, I know who you are, pretty much the whole crew does, that book is basically a giant name tag." She said. Someone else called her over. "Si ese morones ya han causado un accidente..." She muttered under her breath. "I'll see you later Elijah."

    "Right, yes, thank you." He said and went off to find his room. His bag was really feeling heavy at this point. "So it was this way...then turn here...walk past these openings." Eli mumbled to help him remember which way to go. Sure enough he was able to find area D and after that it was just a matter of finding room D.

      Luckily the room appeared to be empty. Oh he was all for meeting new people, especially his fellow team members but he had already met and been introduced to so many people. Social interactions took more out of him than he would have expected. Or it could be due to not getting any sleep last night and he was running on a cup of coffee, a slice of toast and adrenaline that was already gone at this point. He made a mental note to find the kitchen later.

    The room was plain and fairly standard with a bunk bed against either wall. The wall at the end had a desk in front that would certainly be useful and the other wall had a door that was either a bathroom or a closet, he'd open it and find out which later. He settled on the bottom bunk bed on the right wall right next to the door. Eli would have loved to take the top bed but he was too tired to climb up the ladder. He kicked his bag underneath the metal frame of the bed and lied down, hands behind his head and not even bothering to take off his glasses. The bed was more than a little lumpy but he could care less at this point. Just a quick nap. Then he'd check in with the bridge.

    But it's kind of hard to sleep when you feel someone watching you.

    Elijah opened his eyes and promptly jumped up and hit his head against the top bed at the fairly large silhouette in front of his bed.

    "You're on my stuff."

    "Excuse me?" Elijah asked, rubbing his side forehead.

    "You're on my stuff!" He repeated again.

  A light flashed in front of Eli's eyes as he switched on his headlamp. Why the fuck did this guy have a headlamp indoors? The guy reached over and pulled down the sheets of the bed that Eli hasn't bothered covering himself with to show various little piles of rocks and in some cases dirt. Well no wonder it was lumpy. "Why are there _rocks_ in my bed?!" He exclaimed, still shielding his eyes from the blinding light. He couldn't even see the man's face.

    "Why are you on my rocks?! Do you have any idea how long it took me to get this collection?! Oh! Look what you did!! You mixed England and France and we all know what that causes ugh- move!"

  He pulled Eli off the bed and Elijah barely kept himself from falling in his face. Eli scrunched his nose and brushed off his clothes. Well if this guy wasn't the epitome of manners. As if hearing his thoughts the round guy turned toward him and the light blinded him again. He groaned and rubbed at his eyes.

    "Who are you?" He demanded as Eli tried to regain his vision.

    "I'm ah I'm-" his tired mind was not doing him any favours. He felt his hand being yanked forward and immediately tried to pull back. "Hey, let go!"

    "Oh don't be such a baby!" The man clicked his tongue. Even though Eli was a bit short compared to most men, this guy was shorter still. But he still managed to keep Eli from taking his hand back. He used his tweezers to pick some dirt from underneath Eli's fingernails. He let go of Elijah's hand and Eli tried rubbing some life back into his wrists.

   "Judging by the carbon footprint of the lead left behind you not only write a lot but also professionally but this mark of lead also belongs to a cheap but fine quality of pencil. Along with feline hair not purebred-" the man's strange head gear had a magnifying glass along with the light as he muttered his deductions. "This points to the hand of a map maker." He sniffed at the sample. "And *linguist*." 

  "H-how did you-?"

  "Toby leave the poor guy alone!" Another voice tsked.

   The door that Eli had originally suspected to be a bathroom was open and there was another man leaning against the doorway. His dark hair was neatly trimmed although a tad long in the back. He was slim but not in the same way Eli was. This sort of slim was from someone who put in the work into it, work that was shown through toned muscles, unlike Eli's skinny figure which was due to the exact opposite. Oh did he forget to mention that the guy was naked save for the towel that he had around his waist?

   "He read your file." He nodded to Eli.

   "Dang it Jim!" The man, Toby, pouted. "I was trying to freak him out a bit!" He sighed. "Well now that Jim here ruined the fun, I'll introduce myself. Tobias Domsalski, expert geologist and excavengineer, at your service."

   "A-ah. My name is-" 

  "You must be Elijah, right?" Jim cut in, holding his hand out.

   "Yes er Elijah Pepperjack, map charter and linguist." He replied, trying to keep his gaze at Jim's face. He couldn't help but feel a bit of envy. He accepted the handshake.

   "James Lake Jr.," Jim continued, shaking his hand firmly but not as harshly as Merlin had. "I worked with your old man on his expedition." He said that last part sympathicaly. "He was a good man, smart."

   Eli nodded. "Thank you." He didn't know what else to say. He wasn't used to people talking about his father without mocking him.

   "You look like him." Toby added.

   "Oh. Well I uh that's- thank you." Somehow that unnerved him more than James's statement had.

   "Elijah Pepperjack, please report to the bridge. Elijah Pepperjack, please report to the bridge." A female sounding voice from the overhead speaker? called.

   "Oh thank Tyche." Eli sighed before catching himself. "Ah it-it was nice to meet you both but they need me- at the bridge! So- I'll see you later! And please clear off my bed." He quickly added, practically dashing out of the room in his awkward shuffle while clutching the book that was quickly becoming his security blanket.

   "Clear off…Toby! _Please_ tell me that you didn't put your dirt and rock collection on the _bed_!" Eli could hear Jim shout through the door.

   The last thing he heard was Toby exclaiming "Okay I know you're angry but wait until you hear what I did with the motor pool sign!" And then Eli was lost within the ship's halls trying to find the bridge.

 

   The look of annoyance on Merlin's face was barely masked when he finally got there, not to mention the faces of what looked like a good two thirds of the crew. Within the crowd he could spot Claire, NotEnrique, Aarghmount, Toby and a now fully dressed Jim who all stood together near the front. NotEnrique was popping some gum, obviously annoying Claire with it. Morgana at least greeted him kindly. 

  "Mr. Pepperjack, we've been expecting you." She said "We have everything set up for you to debrief the crew as to what we should be expecting when we arrive." 

  "Oh...Oh!" How could he have forgotten?! Well then again everything had been a non-stop whirlwind of movement and change for the past two days. There was a projector set up for him to use, something that he had been denied when he had worked at the museum. There were little cards to project images from the book, parts from various passages, a pointer. It was the perfect set-up.

    But all of these **people**! Eli had always given presentations to immobile audiences or his cat! Not the healthiest past time true but it has been all that he had. Eli tugged at his neckline, the bowtie now seeming as tight as a noose and he felt like he was sweating through his coat. "E-everyone can uh can hear me, right?"

    Elijah received silence and a rogue cough in return. "Right." Best to keep this brief and to the point. He picked at the journal's spine. "So uh, I know you all must be busy so I'll keep this short."

    _Painfully_ aware of the eyes on him he walked to the projector. "Despite this being an expedition to Atlantis, the path we're on is currently through the Caribbean ocean. S-so while we're already pretty far down under the sea we'll have to go deeper still."

  He slid a card into the projector, a photo which roughly depicted the opening they were to encounter. The image was projected onto a chalk board so Eli walked over to add to it. Just forget about the people watching. Pretend that they're just the inanimate objects. "As you can see the opening is pretty simple, just a slight drop down and then forward until we come up." Toby raised his hand. "Yes?" Eli asked.

    "Will we have to dig our way up?" He questioned.

    "Excellent question," Elijah complimented. "Actually we thankfully won't have to because based on both the drawing mixed with the description it's pretty easy to infer that the tunnel opens up to a natural underground cave with an air pocket, something that yes seems impossible due to the depth that we'll be at but hey, a lot of things seem impossible," Eli continued while Toby was complaining to Jim who shushed him.

    "For example, there is supposedly an ancient being guarding the passage. A monster so hideous and frightening that the text says that the mere sight of it will drive you mad." He inserted the next card only to pull it out seconds later with wide eyes. That was **not** the right card!

    Behind him the bored and silent group had turned as giggly and noisy as school children during recess. Elijah felt his entire face to red in a mixture of shame, embarrassment and fear. The picture was one of him at the beach, with a snorkel, flippers and tube tire. He hated the beach, absolutely hated it but his mother had begged him to go and it had been right after her health had started getting bad so how could he have said no? But that wasn't the point. The point was it was a _private_ photo. One that only he had. So how had it gotten there was what bothered him, pissed him off. How had it gotten there? He pocketed the picture with shaking hands. Any sort of picture like that, we're he wasn't fully dressed (he had been in swim trunks and a tank top) was a danger to him. Why would it be there?

    Elijah shook his head and tried to calm his racing heart and flaming face. He clutched the book with white knuckles and inserted the _actual_ card, checking three times before inserting it. "Th-this this is an illustration of the Leviathin. It uh it is mentioned in various forms of literature like the Book of David or other works of that sort, calling it a demon t-that shoots fire and lightening from its eyes. But now doubt just an exaggeration to frighten the superstitious."

    "Oh a lobster." NotEnrique commented, gesturing to the image that indeed looked like a giant lobster of some sort. "Hey we have about 500 kilos of butter in the kitchen right?"

    The crew that had been quieting down from their giggles burst out laughing once more. "I uh I think that does it for now, we'll continue this later but that's what we should expect from the arrival point." Eli concluded, quickly shuffling off the stage, head down. The group didn't have to be told twice before dispersing.

    Even though Eli still had no clue how to navigate the ship that didn't stop him from walking away, somewhere, anywhere that wasn't there. He thought that this was supposed to be a professional expedition, not deja vu to being bullied by his classmates all throughout high school and then college. He fiddled with the spine, realized that he was hopelessly lost and sighed. Of course. He leaned his back against the wall and sunk down until he was sitting. Great. He was a map maker with no sense of direction. Fantastic. With nothing better to do he cracked open the journal.

    There was something so satisfying about reading in dead languages, watching the runes and symbols unfurl themselves in his mind until he could understand them. And of all the dead languages he knew, Atlantean was his favourite. It was so elegant and complex and god just reading a cookbook recipe in this language would be like poetry. Eli could only image what finding Atlantis would be like. All of the carvings and literature that they might find. The history that they would uncover. Just thinking about...He felt calm almost instantly.

    The calm was shattered when an alarm exploded right above his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooooo…turns out that I was under the impression that I had already updated this?? Okay, like I thought that the second chapter was already up and was confused as to the lack of comments but just brushed it off until it was killing me and I checked and I'm just like "…Wait what?" And I find out that I had NOT in fact updated this.  
> Then I'm just like "Oh well I edited it right?" NOPE! I have the problem of confusing dreams with memories which can be very problematic when I dream very mundane activities, I've dreamed of going to friend's houses when I hadn't, dreamed of going to school and then being very confused when I wake up because "WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S MONDAY?!? I WENT TO SCHOOL YESTERDAY! YESTERDAY WAS MONDAY! TODAY IS SUPPOSED TO BE TUESDAY! " The worst one was when I dreamt of taking a test that I had to take and then being very confused when they hand me the test at school because "Didn't I take this yesterday?" "Yesterday was Sunday" "FUCKING HELL!!!" So I dreamed of updating this when in reality I hadn't .  
> My brain is fucking weird, I know =_=  
> Hopefully y'all liked this chapter even though it wasn't as long as I would have liked!! Comments are appreciated (so is food but hey.)  
> This Took more time cause I changed it from Claire being Audrey to Claire being Dr. Sweet and Jim from Sweet to Audrey. To be honest I only put Claire as Audrey in the first place cause they are both Latina but I feel like the change I did makes more sense.


	3. 30,000Below

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ocean floor practically couldn't be seen with how much wreckage littered it. Ship wreckage to be exact. Dozens of ships, maybe hundreds, that could hardly be recognized as that were presented to them under the lights. Even with his growing state of fear and alarm Elijah's brain worked to unravel what it was seeing. These ships…these ships were from numerous eras. From Viking to modern, any and practically every civilization that had ventured in voyage had a ship here. Elijah couldn't take his eyes off the graveyard. These were ships that were capable of holding sometimes hundreds of people. And based off of the wreckage pattern they had all sunken almost instantly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha, see what I did with the title? XD  
> So, warning right off the bat, this chapter is a bit graphic? Not in a kinky way, injuries, death, the works. Don't know how else to describe it. Just- if you're squimish to injuries or death or trauma and stuff like that he careful. I don't usually write like *this* (at least not in posted works) but this part in the movie...I never could stop thinking about it, about how much differently it could have been presented had it not been a Disney film. So yeah, here's where I start straying from the script more.  
> Oof, I already suck with descriptions, now I gotta try and update these tags 0 _ 0 Fuck me  
> Y'ALL BEEN WARNED

   Somehow Eli's sense of direction greatly improved when alarms were screeching in his ears and he found his way back to the bridge almost instantly. He had his hands clapped over his ears but now felt silly for it since none of the other crew members seemed to be bothered by the noise. Although Merlin did look more than a touch annoyed.

    "Mary, when I instructed you to get him here I meant for you to call him through the intercom, not assault our ears." Merlin sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

    "But then I would have had to hang up my call!" A young woman with straight black hair, small, pretty brown eyes and a headset called. "Oh not you Darcy, now keep going, who did you say that you saw Hank with?"

    Merlin let out a huff of frustration. "Ms. Wang."

    "Mm?" She replied, clearly distracted.

    "If you would please play that sound over the intercom. The one that we called Mr. Pepperjack over here for?" He said through gritted teeth.

  "But my call-"

   "HANG IT UP!" Merlin shouted, in her station in less than two seconds as he stared down at her.  

  Elijah now knew her as the second bravest woman in the world as she didn't even flinch or break eye contact at Merlin's outburst. "I'll call you back." She said calmly into the headset before flicking a switch so hard that Eli feared that it would snap in half. 

   If Elijah felt small in the large main bridge before he now felt the size of an ant with the sound that crawled from the speakers overhead. It was unlike any sound he had ever heard, not even comparing to the groaning noises that the boiler in the museum's basement made. It sounded metallic, sure, but the hollow groans sounded too tortured to belong to something that wasn't alive. A shiver raced down his spine and a quick look around showed that he wasn't the only one. 

   "Now, now, I'm sure that it's just a pod of whales." Merlin reassured. 

   "How deep are we?" Eli whispered, more to himself than anything.

    "30,000 feet." Jim said, lips set in a thin line. Too deep for it to be whales. They had lost visibility a while ago as they went deeper, the ship's internal lights were the only light in the ocean at this point but they still couldn't see in front of them.

    "Bring up the search lights." Elijah said, body still frozen as the noise appeared to grow louder, angrier. The search lights flicked on and Eli had never regretted his words more in his life. 

  The ocean floor practically couldn't be seen with how much wreckage littered it. Ship wreckage to be exact. Dozens of ships, maybe hundreds, that could hardly be recognized as that were presented to them under the lights. Even with his growing state of fear and alarm Elijah's brain worked to unravel what it was seeing. These ships…these ships were from numerous eras. From Viking to modern, any and practically every civilization that had ventured in voyage had a ship here. Elijah couldn't take his eyes off the graveyard. These were ships that were capable of holding sometimes hundreds of people. And based off of the wreckage pattern they had all sunken almost instantly.

   The noise shifted, the groans now coming from their right and slowly, slowly, making its way around. Eli no longer cared what was making the noise. What mattered now was were they being observed…or hunted? 

   "-pjack?" 

  "What?"

   "I said 'Where is that opening you were talking about earlier, Mr. Pepperjack?'" Morgana repeated. 

  "What do you mean?" Elijah asked, feeling goosebumps break out on his arms. No. Don't tell him-

   "We've arrived at the coordinates."

   The words had just left her mouth when a sudden collision had Eli flying to the side. He wasn't the only one. Morgana, Merlin, Aarghmount, NotEnrique and a handful of others managed to keep upright. Of course Notenrique was the one to ask the question on everyone's tongue. "What the **fuck** was that?!"

   "Definitely not whales." Claire said, helping Jim up only for both of them to fall once more as they impacted something again. Or rather when something impacted them.

   The speakers were still on and a loud screech, like hundreds of nails on chalkboard rang out. Mary tore off her headset with a wince and flicked the switch off. But it didn't matter. The noise was coming from right outside the ship now. The ship's search lights were still on and Elijah really wished that they weren't. Right in front of the ship was a creature unlike anything that he could have imagined. Unlike any nightmare that he had ever had. The pictures didn't do it justice but Eli knew what it was. It was gigantic, making their ship the size of a mouse. And that creature was most definitely the cat. It really did look something like a lobster with its body structure and movements but it was a dull grey that shimmered beneath the lights. And when it opened its mouth…Jesus when it opened its mouth. It had pinchers the size of a house with teeth longer than an adult man. The eyes dilated before going back to normal and-wait. Eli squinted. No. That couldn't be possible.

    "Fire torpedoes!" Merlin shouted to the brigade.

   "No, wait!" Eli cried. But it didn't matter. He held no authority in anything that wasn't map or language related. He could only watch as the torpedoes were fired. 

   The explosion was louder than Elijah ever would have expected an underwater detonation to be. And the creature screeched- not in pain- but in anger. And Eli realized what it had been doing this whole time. Observing them, deciding if they were friend or foe. And they had just failed that test.

    It opened its mouth and Eli could see light glowing from within it. That light kept building and building until its mouth crackled with an electricity. And one second before it fired Eli knew. "It's a machine!" He shouted.

    And then it fired. 

   But this didn't just ricochet uselessly like the torpedoes had from it. No, this went right through the bottom half of the ship and everyone's blood ran like ice in their veins. If it has been any other class of ship they all would have been dead. Exploded upon impact. The monster seemed to know this too and tilted its head as if asking 'Hey, why aren't you all dead?'

   "Fire again!" Merlin commanded and while Elijah was not a violent person he wanted to hit Merlin over the head with a chair for his stupidity.

   Luckily someone other than him pointed out the idiocy behind that plan. "No, we have to abandon ship!" Morgana said. More people seemed to agree with her idea.

    "We have to attack that beast!" Merlin argued, gesturing to it like a madman. 

  "Our mission is to get him-!" She pointed to Eli. "And the rest of the crew to Atlantis! **Not** to pick fights like you so love to do!" They had a staring down for the most agonizing ten seconds before Merlin scowled and looked away.     Morgana took that as her opportunity. "Everyone evacuate, NotEnrique, I want you on weapons while the rest do so! Don't fire unless that thing tries to fire again and if it does aim for the mouth! That's your go point! I'll stay on the bridge, Merlin you lead the evacuation!" She fired off commands in seconds and Eli so wished that she was the one in charge instead of Merlin. " **Move people, go!** "

   It was barely controlled chaos. The crew ran to pass supplies to the escape pods, Eli ran to get his duffle bag which he thankfully had not unpacked yet. As he ran he couldn't help but look back at the creature that seemed to be staring right into him. A shiver raced down his spine and he urged his legs to move faster. Jim and Toby were at either side of him although Toby struggled to keep up.

    "Come on, Eli, we can't have you getting lost now!" Jim said with a nervous laugh.

   "Ye-Yeah!" Toby panted between words. "Even- even if we get- out of- of this we can't- exactly get any-anywhere without a map!"

    Mary's surprisingly controlled voice came through the speaker. "Lake! They need help below deck! We're taking on a lot of water!"

   "Crap!" Jim gasped, changing directions in an instant. "Toby! Keep him safe!" He yelled over his shoulder.

   "Aye, aye!" Toby shouted, following after Eli. "Be careful Jim! This way Eli!" 

  Eli grabbed his bag as soon as he stumbled into the room and waited anxiously as Toby shoved his things into his own bag. He still hadn't cleared the rocks and dirt from Eli's bed and stayed looking at it for two seconds before grabbing _one_ stone and pocketing it, scrunching his eyes shut and mumbling either an apology or a prayer. Toby repainted the smile onto his face. "Okay! Let's go! Our pod is number 2! We don't want to keep the others waiting!"

    Eli nodded, throat too dry to speak. He could barely even hear with how his heart pounded. Toby lead him through the halls that were turning more into a maze the lower they went down. Eli was sweating cold and his fingertips, legs and lips felt numb.

   How? It was supposed to be just a statue. It was a machine. A machine. Which meant that someone had **built** it. Someone had built it who knows how long ago and it was still active. With the years, saltwater, and corrosion it still worked. A machine. No machine they had on land even came close to that. Why was this machine even there? Hadn't the books called Atlantis a peaceful civilization?

   "Brace for impact!" Mary's voice rang through the speaker again.

   Seconds later Eli felt a rumble behind them. And he made the mistake of looking back. There had been people running behind them and a bolt cut through the hall. In some cases people. His eyes widened as the image burned into his brain like the bodies did. Even though they weren't close enough to be affected by the blast they still felt like their faces were going to melt off from the heat of it. The blast threw Toby and he forward and Eli's head smacked against the floor nastily. The book had fallen from his grip and he managed to get his hand on it before everything went dark.

 

   Jim was trying to do the impossible. He was sealing off sections while making sure that everyone got out of each section first. He knew that he couldn't afford that but he couldn't- he couldn't choose between one or the other. That was his first mistake. The bolt burst through the section ahead of him that he was still waving people out of but they could only wade through the water so quickly. The bolt fried the people left and sent the water scalding. Jim cursed and jumped back, cranked the lever and sealing off the section with gritted teeth. Don't think about it. Don't think about it.

    One of the crew, barely alive, reached out a hand in a desperate plea. Jim couldn't stop cranking now and mouthed an 'I'm sorry' stupidly as if that would do something. Don't think about it. Don't think about it. Although the bolt had been in the other section it still affected all the water that was flooding the floor. Jim now knew how a lobster felt. The irony. He might have laughed if he wasn't busy gritting his teeth against the pain.

  The pressure built up with the heat and bolts from the sealed door flew off, richoceting through the hall with a speed that made them as deadly as bullets. So proven by the woman next to him whose forehead became embedded with one. Jim covered his head and ran through the hall. Don't think about it. Don't think about it. Don't think about it. Don't stop. Run.

  "Come on! **MOVE**!" He bellowed at the people looking at him stupidly. "Up the ladder, let's go!"

   He followed after them, wincing the whole time. His legs, even covered with denim overalls, had gotten burned by the water for the stupid minute it had taken him to crank the section shut and each step set fire to his nerves. But he could walk. And if he could walk he could run. And if he could run…then maybe he had a chance of surviving this hell. 

 

    "-laire!! Claire are you around here?! Someone! Medic, please!" A voice screamed.

    Elijah groaned, his right cheek felt cold. Oh yeah. He was on the floor. Memories flooded back to Eli and he got to his knees and emptied his guts. Toby jumped back like he had just seen a corpse come back to life. Eli wiped his mouth, secured his grasp on the journal and his bag and stood up. He was working on autopilot. "Let's go!" He shouted at Toby.

    Toby stayed staring for two seconds but nodded, grabbing his own bag. They sprinted down the hall. Eli had no clue where they were going and was relaying completely on Toby to help him get through the maze of a ship. They went down one level, then another, sparks and heat all around. There wasn't another warning from the speakers. Elijah didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Now brightly lit exit signs (the ones that still worked at least) helped them find their way. They could see in front of them the pods. They didn't dare look behind them, not again. Claire was waiting at the hatch of pod 2, breathing a sigh of relief. "Get in! Hurry!" She called.

   "Who are we missing?!" Toby asked, throwing his bag down the hatch and doing the same with Eli's.

   "Mary, Morgana and NotEnrique." She replied, worry etched clearly on her face.

   "Jim's here?! He's okay?!" Toby gasped. "Oh god I thought that the lightening had-!"

   "He's here, now get in!! We can't wait much longer!" Claire said before turning towards Eli, her jaw dropping. "Eli! Are you alright?!"

   Eli looked at her in confusion. Why wouldn't he be alright? His forehead felt sweaty so he wiped it with the back of his hand. It came away bloody. He stared at it as if he didn't know what the substance was. Hm. That didn't seem good.

  Toby helped him down the hatch and entered after him. Eli looked around the dimly lit escape sub. Jim indeed was there, clutching his knees to his chest and taking deep breathes more than likely to keep from screaming in pain but there. Merlin was there. So were a handful of others. He took a seat and fumbled with the buckle. Toby strapped in next to him. A minute later Mary dropped in, followed by Morgana, Claire and NotEnrique. 

  NotEnrique tripped over his bag which dwarfed him in comparison but that didn't stop him from screaming "Get us the **fuck** out of this shit show!" 

  Merlin didn't have to he told twice and moved to pull the lever that would pop open the escape doors. Of course Life wasn't letting them catch a single break. The lever got stuck. Merlin cursed loudly. "Morgana! If you would be so kind as to _help_!" He bellowed.

   She went to help him and Eli took the chance to sit down, he took the space next to Claire who was seated next to Jim, looking over his wounds. Toby was on the other side of Jim, allowing for him to hold his hand so tightly it was a miracle that his fingers didn't break in his grasp. NotEnrique had the seat next to Aargh, swatting the huge man's hand away whenever he tried to lay it on his shoulder in reassurance. He could wait until they were safe to stop shaking.

    The lever finally gave, Morgana kicking it into place. There was a loud pop as the doors burst open and a deep whoosh, the bay flooded with water so quickly it was shocking. Eli couldn't stop from wishing that whoever wasn't in a pod to already have been done in by the bolt. The water took out the beams keeping the pods in space and none of them wasted time in getting their asses in gear. Eli took a look through the pod's windshield as they exited the ship into Open Ocean and immediately scrunched his eyes shut at the ship graveyard. Debris (amongst other things) drifted from the open escape doors and from the ship itself as millions of dollars peeled off it from the explosions, joining the watery grave.

  All of that work, Eli knew not how many years in the making, destroyed by an ancient machine who was never supposed to be there. Said machine, the Leviathan, looked at the ship, appearing mesmerized by the way that the ship slowly unfurled, metal falling off and twirling in the water almost like snowflakes. Having not heard an explosion but feeling it, Elijah opened his eyes, looking through the back window of the sub as it quickly departed from the ship, pods flanking them on either side.

   Apparently the ship was coming apart too slowly and the Leviathan wanted to speed it up. It fired another laser. The ship didn't gain another hole. The ship exploded. There was no warning. It had just exploded into a thousand pieces that didn't remotely resemble a ship. Another ship for the graveyard. Eli gasped, heart catching in his throat, he almost felt silly for his reaction but saw that the rest of the crew bore similar faces of horror. One man openly sobbed.  

   "Fuck you, you stupid flying lobster of death." NotEnrique said through gritted teeth.

   Barely even turning its head it fired another bolt, striking an unfortunate escape pod that had lingered too far back. It was gone instantly, not needing as many shots as the main ship had. The Leviathan titled its head and Eli's stomach turned as he thought that it looked almost pleased at that. As if sensing his gaze it turned toward the fleet of escape pods, their own included, that were quickly trying to get away from the creature. It took off after them.

  "Mr. Pepperjack!" 

  Eli jumped in response, turning his attention back to the front of the pod where Merlin had shouted at him. 

  "If that book that you're bleeding all over has anything that could help us survive this I'm all for hearing it." Merlin snapped.

   Huh. He had forgotten that he was bleeding. "There's supposed to be a crevice! Judging by the creature's reaction I think we're pretty damn close to it!" Eli barked. "Sir." He added after Merlin's surprised look at him finally taking control. 

   "There!" Claire shouted, pointing to a trench in between two intricate statues carved from stone depicting two creatures kneeling at the entrance. Well if that wasn't a sign Eli didn't know what was. 

   Mary snatched up the headset and spoke into the pod's walkie talkie. "All pods! All pods enter the trench between the statues at two o'clock! The trench between the statues, two o'clock!" 

  A bolt narrowly missed them but it shook the pod regardless. The good news, the trench wasn't too far away! The bad, they were now all conveniently heading the same direction for the Leviathan to pick them all off. The creature screeched and even underwater the noise shook the glass and the very pods themselves. A pod not too far from them exploded, debris bouncing off the windshield and shaking them. Eli grit his teeth, drawing his knees up to his chest and burying his head between them, trying desperately to drown everything out. This wasn't supposed to have happened. 

    "Hold on!" Aargh warned, finally speaking.

   Elijah would have replied with 'To what?' but a sudden ninety degree drop stopped him from doing so. He was lucky enough to have buckled. One of the poor souls in the back hadn't and flew out of their seat, hitting the ceiling. The pod levelled out and they came back down. When they hit the ground the bone of their elbow met the outside world for the first time ever, their entire arm bending the opposite of how it was supposed to. Eli was glad that he had already emptied his guts. 

   Pods one, four, five, seven, ten, twelve, thirteen, twenty nine, and thirty were in front of them, the rest tailing behind. While the giant flying lobster of death was too big to fit in the trench that didn't stop it from firing its lasers after them. They felt rather than saw another explosion from behind them. The tunnel was a mess, not the clean path that the book had described at all, it was jagged and treacherous and an absolute nightmare to pilot through. Ahead of them this was proven by ship four *ramming* into seven, making *both* ships explode. They had no choice but to drive through the explosion and the windshield developed a huge spiderweb crack and everyone held their breath, both from fear and in case the pod was suddenly filled with water. 

  Jim had a death grip on Toby and Claire's hands and Eli fisted his locket tightly in one hand, clutching the journal in the other. Elijah looked back at the crew and almost everyone was mouthing a prayer, NotEnrique was crossing himself over and over. The pod shook with nonstop turbulence and Eli waited for it to be over. Then they went up suddenly, almost going backwards with how sharp the angle was. But then Eli could see how the water changed, the depth and clarity. Everyone lurched forward in their seat as they broke through the water’s surface. The poor bastard on the floor shrieked at what that did to their shoulder.

   The cave was pitch black save for the red emergency lights within the pod and everyone held their breath, waiting for something else to happen. Seconds passed. Then a minute. Then two. A ship less than five meters from them turned on their lights. They followed suite and soon did the other ships. Still. No one moved from their seat. Everything was silent save for the person sobbing from pain on the floor. Merlin undid his seatbelt and strided to the pod's door. Morgana handed him a flashlight. He took it and with some effort, popped the door open. He used the flashlight to signal the other ships. 

  "To shore!" He ordered, the rest of the ships called back with various forms of 'Yes sir!' 

  Merlin re-entered the pod and looked at the crew, taking everything in. "We're going to shore." He said after a moment. "Claire, you lead the medical team and see who needs-" he looked at the crew member with the broken arm and Eli's bleeding head. "Immediate medical attention. Whoever is uninjured will help with unloading supplies and doing inventory. Morgana, you help lead Claire's team, I'll lead cargo."

   "Yes sir!" The crew chorused. 

   The pod slowly made its way to shore and as soon as it hit land everyone sprung to action. "Aarghmount, I need help with Jim and the other." Claire instructed.

   Aargh nodded and undid Jim's seatbelt before picking him up bridal style. He slung the other member over his shoulder, being mindful of their mess of an arm. He made his way out of the pod with both of them. Toby followed. 

  Claire knelt before Eli. "Can you walk?" She said slowly.

   Why was she speaking like that? Of course he could! Why wouldn't he be able to? He couldn't say this of course because he felt like he had a mouth full of dirt. So he just unbuckled his seatbelt. It wouldn't open. He tried again. And again. After the fourth try Claire did it for him. Only then did he realize how badly he was shaking.

 

   He just barely didn't need stitches but might as well have them with how Claire had mummified his head to deal with the gash on his forehead. But that didn't matter right now. What mattered was the dish that Claire set on the water, a single lit candle atop it. The crew was looking at it, as if asking it 'Why?'. Most stood up, heads down in respect and prayer, some sat silently, others cried. Elijah barely registered any of it. Morgana was speaking and even though Eli's ears weren't covered her words sounded muffled, distant. 

   "We began this journey with one thousand brilliant men and women," she started, Eli clenched his jaw at the number. While seventeen of the thirty escape pods had made it there were easily less than a two hundred people standing with him. "We're…what's left. I'm not going to lie, no one ever expected something like this to happen, especially at the start of the mission-"

     "But that changes nothing." Merlin cut her off. Eli could have decked him. "It just means that we all have to put in extra work, the mission stays the same regardless of the amount of people we still have with us." The way he spoke was as if speaking of a minor inconvenience. "We can't let things like this stall us, but without the main ships equipment with the pre-set coordinates all we have to help us find our way is Mr. Pepperjack and his book." 

  NotEnrique, who had been quiet in respect for the ceremony, bouncing his leg as he smoked, took a long drag of his cigarette before stating. "We're going to die down here." No one argued.  

  "Everyone on a vehicle, let's go, we should have been moving ten minutes ago." Merlin instructed.

   Eli bit back a scowl, pulling the blanket that Claire had given him tighter around his shoulders. The mission. He knew that this journey was important but at what cost? Where was the respect? Could they not spare even five minutes to pay their condolences? But it seemed like he was the only one who objected to moving on so quickly as everyone else started mounting up and moving supplies. He squeezed his eyes shut, he had never been very religious but he couldn't stop from sending a silent plea to his father to protect them. 

  "I think you'd do more good by driving." When Eli shot him a confused look Merlin elaborated. "You can drive can't you? And by all logic you should be the one driving to lead us since you can read the book." 

  "Yeah- yes, I can drive."

   "Good, then get right on it, we're waiting on you." The way he said that last part made it seem like waiting was akin to spitting on his face.

   Eli couldn't look the man in the eye as he nodded. If looks could kill…who would fall first? Merlin or he?

   In retrospect, Elijah should have realized that he driving wasn't the best idea. Oh he could drive. He hadn't done so in a while but it was like riding a bike, one never forgot. The issue was that he was expected to drive while deciphering the journal. While having a massive headache. After almost getting a concussion. After almost dying. After going through shock, he was pretty sure that he was still in shock. Could one be aware of being in shock? So when Merlin had ordered him to tie his car to the back of the digger after he had nearly crashed the car for the seventh time when he was only going about three miles per hour, he was actually relieved.

   Jim sat with him since he couldn't drive with the state of his legs. Both were thoroughly bandaged, so much that he could hardly bend them at the knees. His overalls had been cut off at the knee to allow this. 

  Eli chewed on his fingernails while he read, the odd shapes and letters unfurling in his mind, sentences turned to sunrises, paragraphs were paradises, each word flowing together beautifully. Even with his massive headache, Elijah **loved** this. He held the book in his left and wrote on a paper with his right, making a rudimentary map. They were going the right way, for now, but in about an hour they'd come to nine- no that was a ten-wait no. Atlanteans counted zero as a number so eleven. Eleven openings and they'd go through…the sacred number…fantastic. Sacred…what would that mean?

   "So uh, my mom's going to kill me." Jim said all of a sudden. 

   "What?"

   "She gave me two rules 'Don't get hurt' and to bring her back something pretty." He clarified, scratching the back of his neck.

   "Oh...okay." Eli went back to trying to figure out what sacred number could mean. Atlanteans didn't really hold anything sacred as far as he could tell from his reading, and he had read the whole thing cover to cover. He flipped to a different part of the book, where a page had clearly been taken out. Cut out actually. 

  "You okay there?"

   "Hm?" 

  "You seem distracted."

   Eli tried not to look annoyed. "I'm just trying to figure out what this one part could mean." 

  "Oh! Anyway that I could help?" He asked, picking at the top of the bandages, god his legs itched so bad. But the bandages were for the best, for one they kept him from clawing his skin off. Claire had put numbing medicine, which he was grateful for, put now his legs just felt…fuzzy, riddled with pins and needles. 

  "If you could find this missing page that would be fantastic." He gestured to the page in exasperation.

   "Missing page? Are you sure?"

   "It was cut out." Eli turned the book to Jim. "Look at the edge, it was obviously cut out, and quickly by the looks of it." 

  Jim looked at it for a few moments. "Are you sure that it didn't just fall out?" He said finally.

   "Ha, if it had fallen out I would be fine with that. But this was _cut_." He frowned, and continued to chew at his finger. Oh! That was it! If Atlanteans didn't consider anything sacred and most cultures didn't include zero then obviously it would be tunnel zero! He allowed a small smile to grace his face. At least one mystery had been solved. 

   But that page… 

  "So did you make any promises to anyone back on dry land?" Jim asked, derailing his train of thought. 

  "Just to Bli- Mr. Gandigal that I wouldn't get hurt." Eli shrugged. Obviously he wasn't going to be able to focus on his page problem with Jim around.

 

   It wasn't long before they encountered more problems. Nothing as drastic as a two mile long flying lobster of death mind you. But it held them up nonetheless. Merlin seemed intent to do the opposite of whatever Elijah (or anyone else) said so when they got to the tunnels of course there was a problem. 

  "What you're saying make absolutely no sense!" Culus snapped.

   "It’s not what I'm _saying_ , it’s what I'm translating." Elijah said for what seemed like the hundredth time. Jim had fallen asleep so he couldn't count on anyone to help him reason with Merlin. How had his father put up with this man? Eli remembered him saying that his whole crew was nice. Then again he could have been lying so as to not make him worry.

   "What you're saying is as ridiculous as the idea of votes for women," beside him Morgana quirked an eyebrow and Eli was sure that the only reason she held her tongue was to avoid more pointless arguing. "Now, we're going through tunnel seven at that's final!" 

    If not for the book being the equivalent of a child to him, Elijah would have smacked himself in the forehead with it. Then again he didn't want to risk opening up his wound again.

   The digger, which was the **massive** machine leading all the rest of the vehicles like ducks in a row, chugged forward, driven by Toby. Eli's car was tied to the back so he moved forward as well along with Jim beside him. The digger crept over uneven earth at a steady pace, going to the seventh tunnel. Eli kept having to remind himself that they were on Earth and not some alternate world but it was proving difficult. Especially when right before the digger fully entered the tunnel am enormous black, snakelike creature with horns and a faint blue bioluminescent glow emerged from the tunnel and _shrieked_ at them.

   Even above the being and the noise of the digger Elijah could hear Toby's scream. The digger lurched back as he hastily reversed, seeming to forget that he was towing Eli and Jim's car. The digger crunched into the front of the car, crushing the hood like a tin can. As soon as the digger was out of the tunnel the creature screeched once more before retreating. 

  Toby leapt out of the machine and raced back to Eli's and Jim's car. "Oh shoot I forgot that you guys were back here! Are you alright?! I didn't mean to do that! Oh! And tHAT WAS DEFINITELY NOT THE RIGHT TUNNEL!"

   Merlin appeared out of thin air and glared at Elijah. "Why didn't you tell me that was the wrong tunnel!?"

   Eli could only stare at him, slack jawed. Was Merlin serious? They had _just_ spent at least fifteen minutes arguing about it. And now he's saying that he didn't tell him? Before he could reply Toby jumped in. 

   "What the hell Eli!? I mean just because we almost got killed by a giant lobster doesn't mean that I'm automatically used to getting attacked by mysterious creepy crawlers who want to lay eggs in my brain! Warn a guy next time!" 

   Jim, who of course was wide awake now, and looked close to having a damn heart attack, whole heartedly agreed. "Yeah Eli, definitely not cool."

   "I-"

   "Just tell us which path is the right one!" Merlin barked. Eli flinched and pointed to the one that he had been saying all along. "Finally! Toby if you would be so kind to get back to your vehicle and lead the way." Merlin turned on his heel and went back to his own car.

    Morgana looked at Eli in a mix of sympathy and pity and followed after Merlin. Toby shot him a scowl and marched back to the digger. Eli buried his nose in his book and pretended to not notice all the looks that he was getting. He willed himself to not cry. After all, that could damage the pages.

 

Week one: 

     After the whole tunnel mishap there weren't such major..miscommunication. Mainly because there were no more tunnels, it focused in one huge path. If not for the constant writings they walked past Eli was sure that Merlin would have accused him of leading them down the wrong trail. Between Merlin and his injury, Eli was eating pain relievers like they were candy. NotEnrique had noticed this and had given him a flask one day without a word. Eli hadn’t resorted to that…yet.

   Speaking of eating, due to Jim's legs and how he couldn't move around much he had stumbled into the kitchen and had ended up helping Aargh cook. To put it delicately there was a noticeable difference between Jim's and Aarghmount's cooking. Everyone always fought to get a portion of whatever Jim had cooked, usually leaving Aargh's food untouched. Eli ended up always eating Aargh's cooking out of sympathy and well…he had never really had a huge appetite to begin with. He only wished that he could explain that to Aargh who would happily give him seconds before he was even done with his first serving.

   But at least Aargh's company meant he had someone to eat with. Everyone else shunned his presence. So be it. He was used to not being liked. At least that's what Eli kept telling himself. Aargh constantly asked questions about the journal and while it could be a bit much at times, having an outsiders point of view really helped. And having someone to talk to did to, even if, and he didn't mean this in a cruel way, Aargh couldn't really hold a conversation for long before something distracted the giant.

   Eli's days began and ended with the journal, his words swam with symbols and he knew that he was still only holding a bucket out of a vast ocean. He craved to learn more and was often the last to go to sleep because of it. He was sure it showed with how Claire would give him concerned looks now and again but he didn't care. He was the only one who could read this. He _had_ to learn as much as he could as quickly as he could. Because even if next to no one here liked him, Eli still had a responsibility to guide them. And after the whole...accident with the Leviathan, he couldn't let the remaining crew members down.

   Call Elijah paranoid but more and more often, when he was reading the journal by the pit fire, he felt like he was being watched. Of course whenever he looked up he was just greeted with tents, snoring and darkness.

 

Week two:

   More problems began to present themselves the deeper they went down. It was becoming harder and harder to transport supplies and vehicles and Eli was beginning to see just how far Merlin would go to get his way.

   At the start of week two they came across two huge pillars, symbolizing a gate of sorts. In between the pillars, stretched over a massive canyon that Eli could not see a bottom to, there was a rope bridge. It looked pretty sturdy, all things considered, but certainly not for the two ton digger and other heavy machinery they were driving. The carvings on the pillars were exquisite and Mary took a picture. But no picture could possibly compare to the real things. There were carvings of giant beasts and monsters, some that they had already seen, some that they hadn't. Each feature was so refined and elegant that Elijah could hardly breathe in their presence. And what's more. The pillars had words on them and once Eli made sense of them a shiver raced down his spine. 

_Always be afraid, there is no shame in it, for it keeps us alive._

  Eli was going to be immortal by the end of this trip.

   He walked closer to one of the pillars, not noticing NotEnrique at the base of the other and held a hand out to touch it before pulling it back. He couldn't dare to touch it. He was but a guest here. "Incredible." He breathed. Incredible didn't even **begin** to describe.

   "It must have taken so long to carve that I mean-! I can't even _fathom_ how long- well judging by the sheer height I would say at least a millennia but how many people worked on this?! And for it to still be intact I mean-!"

   Aargh picked him up and hefted him over his shoulder. He carried him for about twenty feet, Eli rambling the whole time, before setting him down and giving a thumbs up. 

  Less than a second later there was a huge explosion that shook the whole cave. Eli covered his ears far too late and watched in horror as one of the pillars fell forward, snapping its arch with the other and crashing to the other side of the canyon, making the crudest bridge that Eli had ever seen. The rope bridge snapped and fluttered down into the abyss.

   NotEnrique let out a whoop. "Did you see that?! That took twelve seconds, tops!"

   Twelve seconds. A thousand years of work. Gone. In twelve seconds. "What the **hell** NotEnrique?!" Elijah screamed at him. How could he do that?!

  "What? I made a bridge." N-E shrugged, gesturing to the fallen pillar.

   "There was already a bridge!"

   "Not one that would have carried that digger."

   "But-!"

   "Honestly Pepperjack! I gave him the order to make a bridge and quite frankly I'm starting to question your ability to lead this mission if you are so incapable of making necessary sacrifices!" Merlin cut in. "Your father was never this immature about things!"

    Eli snapped his jaw shut and glared.

   "Are we clear?!"

   "Yes, Sir." Eli gritted when so desperately wanted to say 'Fuck you' instead.    And when they drove across the bridge, Eli looked back at the pillar and saw that it had writing as well. But with the absence of the other pillar the message was incomplete. Now it just read _'We - have - but - those- this -face- fears-_ ' Very comforting. Especially with how the eyes of the carved monsters seemed to burn holes into him.

   In the second week Eli also found that going to the bathroom was becoming an increasingly difficult task. He couldn't just _go_ wherever like most of the male crew so he would always have to wait until everyone was asleep which was agonizing and even then he had a few close run ins with other members. Oh and while on that note? He found himself stealing more pills among other things than before…and he was very glad that he could spend most of the day sitting in the car without it seeming suspicious. And for once the body odour of the crew members was a good thing.

  It’s not that he was ashamed or anything, it’s just that it had been stress inducing enough to explain it once and Eli was _still_ counting his lucky stars that Blinky had accepted him. No way would he be so lucky with so many people, especially Merlin who was just itching for an excuse to get rid of him. Which in Eli's opinion was just plain idiotic since last time that he had checked, Merlin wasn't exactly the most fluent in Atlantean. But still, idiotic or not, Merlin was looking for that chance. So every close run in left Eli's nerves even worse than the last. Especially since the being watched feeling was just increasing whenever he was alone.

 

Week three, current week:

   The ancient writing etched into the walls and the strange creatures weren't the only things that were odd about the cave. The weather was something otherworldly too. At least in the part of the cave that they were currently in. The temperature kept shifting from boiling hot to freezing every hour. Sometimes it was so got that Eli wanted to peel his skin off, some of his teammates did the next best thing which was take off their shirt. And just when one was getting used to that it would jump to weather so cold that their sweat would freeze onto their skin.

   The fact that it had been nearly a month combined with the odd and infuriating weather patterns had patience wearing thin. Merlin continued to accuse Eli of leading them down the wrong path and Elijah, of course, denied this but well, the more fed up people got the more they agreed with Merlin. It certainly didn't make that 'being watched' feeling that Elijah had been experiencing for the last three weeks.

   Three weeks. Twenty one days tomorrow. Twenty one days since the Leviathan had attacked. Twenty one days since they had lost eighty percent of their crew. Twenty one days since Eli had turned into Atlas, carrying the weight of this mission, the weight of the world, on his shoulders. The responsibility, the stress of it all, Elijah was amazed that he hadn't gone mad.

   Apparently the digger had taken on Eli's mental burden because it suddenly gave a pained groan before sputtering and shaking to a stop. Thick billows of black smoke joined the cold puffs of air that everyone exhaled. Toby banged on the digger's wheel in frustration, slamming on the horn a few times.

   Jim let out a groan of frustration that was almost a scream, scaring the crap out of Eli. Jim used his crutches to quickly hobble over to the digger, lifting up the back hood to inspect the engine. "What the hell?!" He growled, looking at it. "I just checked it this morning!"

    Eli couldn't tell if Jim was shaking from the cold, anger or the strain of walking and he didn't want to find out which. Since the burns weren't only caused by boiling water, that could be why it was taking longer to heal, that and how much of the area was effected.

   "Uh- d-do you uh want any help with that?" Eli asked, climbing out of the car. He could at least try to help even if he knew nothing about cars. Him

   "Don't. Touch. Anything." Jim said immediately. "I can handle it." He went to one of the other cars to pick up a part he needed.

   Eli walked over to the open hood and peered inside. He didn't even know what half of these parts were. Wow, if his teachers could see him now they'd be ecstatic. Elijah Pepperjack didn't know something! He took a closer look, adjusted his glasses and chuckled. Well he certainly knew this! The boiler looked exactly like the one he had spent years with in the museum. He wondered how those old coots were going to deal with the boiler since they didn't have the magic touch like he did. And he knew first-hand how tricky that thing could especially in the winter. Wait. He squinted at the boiler. Well he couldn't exactly do more damage with this. He twisted the knobs, the boiler shuddered and groaned and he whacked it with the wrench that Jim had left behind. Nothing happened at first and then the digger roared to life.

   Toby gave a victory whoop and stuck his head out the window calling back "Thanks Jim!"

   "You're welcome!" Eli beamed. He grinned even brighter at the look on Toby's face.

   "How'd you do that?" Mary asked. She was in the car behind his own with Claire.

    "Well uh the er the museum used to have a boiler like this and uh in the winter it always gets kind of cranky so sometimes you have to give it a little nudge." He replied, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. 

   "Wow, linguist, map maker, and you can fix cars too, how come no ones snatched you up yet?" Mary teased with a wink. 

  Eli just gave an awkward chuckle and a shrug.

   "Eli!" Oh _fuck_ Jim looked pissed. Eli could already see himself being beat up with those crutches. "Didn't I say to **not** touch anything?!"

   "I- I'm sorry I-I was just just trying to help! I never meant-!"

   Merlin shouted at both of them to get in their car so they could get going. Jim scowled at him. "Just because I'm hurt doesn't give you permission to take my job." 

  "I'm not trying-!" 

  Jim shut him up by turning his back to him and climbing into the car.  

  Luckily they finally escaped that insane part of the cave two hours later, they kept moving for an extra hour to make sure that they were really out of it. Everyone's mood greatly improved with that. Even more so when they arrived in front of a bridge- an actual bridge not a rope one- with a massive, chandelier like orb hanging above it. It bathed everything in a golden glow and Eli looked back at the journal. There was no denying it. 

  "That's the last landmark, Atlantis should be only a few days away at this point, maybe even one or two if we're lucky." Eli flinched when the crew behind him erupted into cheers. Wait was that an actual positive reaction? He had almost forgotten that those existed. 

  "What's that thing?" NotEnrique came up next to him, speaking loudly to be heard over the cheers.

   "It's ah-" Eli looked at the image in the journal and the words written next to it.

   _Lantern that houses those who see fears was the literal translation._ Eli supposed that it just referred to being seen and judged by a higher being or something of that sort. This landmark, the final landmark was the only good news they had received in a while, he didn't want to ruin the happy mood. And...he didn't want to get yelled at again.

   "It’s just a landmark, a lantern of sorts." He replied.

   "Why's it glowing?" Claire came out of nowhere, Mary stood besides her snapping a picture.

   "Just some natural bioluminescent." They had seen plenty examples of that while down here. 

  "Alright, quiet down!" Merlin shouted above all the celebrating. "We'll set up camp here for tonight! I suggest that you all rest up because tomorrow we're going twice as hard!" 

  "Yes Sir!" The crew replied in perfect harmony, even though they went right back to cheering after.

   Jim got started with cooking and everyone rushed to start the line for food. Eli stayed behind to look at the glowing lantern. Looking closer it looked like it had writing but it was too high up to see clearly. Maybe someone had a telescope or binoculars or something. Movement from behind it caught his attention and he squinted. Was…was something up there? A huge hand clapped down on his shoulder and he shrieked.

   "Dinner!" Aargh grinned. 

  Eli breathed a sigh of relief and followed after him. He almost turned back to the lantern though because he could swear that he heard muffled laughter. He didn't look back because of just that.

   Once again, Aargh and Eli were camped out in a corner of the site. Aargh was happily munching on…dare Eli call it chilli? It sounded _crunchy_. Eli was taking little spoons here and there and complimenting what he could 'Not too much salt.' 'You put more vegetables than last time.' but he was mostly reading. So when a pebble hit him in the head one could hardly blame him for jumping and spilling chilli all over his lap. He was so glad that none had fallen on the book.

   "NotEnrique, you totally overdid that!" Claire scolded from where they sat a bit ways back.

   "Hey, I got his attention didn't I?" N-E pointed out. "Hey geek! They want you and the giant to get over here!"

   Eli actually looked behind him and then pointed to himself to see if they were actually referring to him. N-E and Claire were seated with Jim, Toby, and Mary, all of which were smiling and waving him over. He looked back to Aargh, silently asking what to do.

   Aargh replied by getting up and going over to the others. Eli grabbed a handkerchief, quickly wiping off his mess as best as he could and grabbed his stuff, hardly believing his luck. They actually wanted him to sit with them! He had gotten used to his routine but that didn't mean that Eli wanted to continue it indefinitely.

   "Hey ah- thanks for inviting us over- ah I mean you know. Thanks." Off to a stellar start Pepperjack. He almost tripped before sitting down.

   "No problem! We really should have done so before but you always seemed fine sitting alone with Aarghmount." Claire said.

   "Plus you're reading all the time." Toby added, mouth full of lasagne. Oh god, Jim had made _lasagne_. Eli willed for his stomach to not growl. His stomach of course disobeyed.

   "Want the rest?" Mary offered, handing her plate over. "I got too much." 

  Eli almost declined but his dinner- what he had been planning to have for dinner- had already fallen onto his lap. So with an awkward thank you and a silent prayer that Aargh wouldn't get too upset he accepted the food. Eli took a bite and he could have cried. So this is what food was like.

   Jim waited until Eli was a few bites in before speaking. "I'm sorry for snapping at you about the boiler."

   Eli gave a confused 'hm?' at that. He had nearly forgotten about it since he was so used to getting yelled at. Besides, all was good, he had lasagne! "It's okay!" Eli smiled.

   NotEnrique quirked an eyebrow. "You…literally can’t get angry can you?"

  "What do you mean?"

   "Almost everyone's been an ass to you for a while, Eli, especially Merlin, and you just come up with an 'Its okay'," Mary said.

   Eli shrugged, setting his plate down. He had to restrain himself from licking it clean. "I didn't really expect for people to…not like me, I did hope to make friends but I wasn't really an option save for Aargh. But I couldn't complain I mean," Eli cast a quick look over his shoulder to the bridge that they'd be crossing come morning. "We're on our way to _Atlantis_ , I've waited my entire career for this, I can't exactly get upset because no one wants to sing campfire songs with me. And the action, the adventure? The knowledge and the learning? It was only be a matter of time before *something* bonded us together." 

  "The only thing I'm bound to is my paycheck." NotEnrique said. The others laughed in agreement.

   "Oh come on, you're saying that money is the _only_ reason that you're doing this?" Eli asked, unconvinced.

   "Yup." 

  "Tell the kid the truth, N-E." Jim coaxed, poking at the pit fire with knife, making it spit up embers. 

  NotEnrique groaned and rolled his eyes. He looked at the ceiling as he spoke. "It’s not easy for guys with my…condition to find work, unless being a Carney suits you. It didn't suit me but hey, work is work, so I did that for a while. Constantly being ridiculed takes a lot out of a guy. And I just wanted to put my name on **something** , something that wasn't a circus flyer. Something **big** , something important. So when Blinks came to me with that job offer I agreed, what could be bigger than putting my name on what will easily be the biggest archaeological discovery of the century?"

   "Is that why you don't use your name?" Eli asked.

   "Bingo, I'm saving it for something big." NotEnrique said, finger gunning him. "Plus I'm wanted in a lot of places for counts of arson."

   "Legend has it that the last place he used his name was when he wrote it in fire in the circus ground before fleeing." Claire added.

   "Oi! You know that ain't legend!" N-E protested. 

  Eli let out a small laugh and looked over to Jim. "What about you?" 

  "Ah, not nearly as interesting as NotEnrique's." He waved off. "Dad skipped out when I was a kid, so I had to start working pretty young. I got in to mechanics mostly so she would have to stop having to go the shop, the guys were real creeps," He grimaced.

   Eli nodded, his mother had suffered the same thing.

    "And I got really into it! Even though my mom was always reminding me that I could be a chef, I learned how to cook to survive by the way, or a doctor like her, since she knew I'd have more luck than her in that industry."

   "And since we're going around with stories," Claire cut in. "I would go over to his house to help him out with that, and sometime along the way I got into her practice and loved it. With how much she taught me it was really easy to get into the school, although after I got in the teachers were really hard on me and the amount of ignorance just made me want to work until I pissed them off."

  "Paranoid father who had me learn how to use headsets in case of a war." Mary raised her hand, shrugging it off.

   Eli turned to Toby who just shrugged. "I just… like rocks." He admitted, slightly red.

   He laughed. He didn't ask Aargh because he already had and while Aargh hadn't answered him then his body language had said enough. Even now he was tense but visibly relaxed when Eli began telling his own story rather than ask him his. Of course Merlin came along to ruin it not soon after, demanding lights out. Eli, not in the mood to argue, started setting up his tent. The others insisted that he make his tent actually within the group. Eli gave every excuse he could think of. That he snored. That he sleepwalked. That he slept naked. That he tossed and turned too much. But it was clear that he wasn't getting out of it.

   He had slept in the weird chest-corset that Blinky had gifted him with **once** and had spent the whole next day regretting that decision. And here he was, doing it again because he was a paranoid idiot. Maybe he could just sleep with his coat on? It was pretty chilly. Speaking of which- 

  "Oi, Pepperjack! Change out of that! We've seen enough creepy crawlies without you smelling like a buffet and attracting more!" NotEnrique said, gesturing to his clothes.

   Eli froze from where he was setting up the tent. Oh no. Sirens were going off in his head that rivalled the ships sirens. "No." He said a bit too quickly. "I mean uh it's alright, it’s already pretty late and I don't want to waste time with that."

   "You could attract bugs." Mary grimaced, already lying in her tent.

   "Smells good." Aarghmount agreed, who for some reason preferred to sleep on the ground with the tent sheet thrown over him like a blanket. 

  "I need to finish making my tent." Eli argued feebly.

   "Finish?" Jim quirked an eyebrow. "You mean you're almost done with that?"

   "Yes?" Eli said hesitantly. What was the issue? Sure it was a bit droopier than the other tents but it still worked.

   "Have you been doing your tents like this the whole time?" Claire asked.

   Eli looked at her in confusion but nodded nonetheless. Mary sighed and got out of her tent, picking up the bag of Eli's clothes that was next to his tent and shoved it at him. "Go change, we'll take care of the tent."

   He didn't dare to argue with her. He grabbed the bag with both hands holding it in front of his chest and walking to the farthest reaches of the camp. He also had his journal which undoubtedly was his security blanket. Eli didn't stop until he was near the bridge again, the only source of light coming from that eerie lantern. He felt his body shaking, now that he had experienced calmness for the first time in a while his nerves were working double time to squish down that relief. Eli wrung the bag in his hands for a bit before opening it. Shirt, pants, socks, spare corset, underwear. Simple enough. He was sweating bullets as he grabbed the shirt. Best to start with this.

   He changed shirts so fast his glasses were knocked off his face and he cursed himself for not taking them off beforehand. Elijah made sure that his shirt was securely in place before spending a few moments feeling around in the dark for his lenses. Eli slipped his shoes off and socks and took more care changing into his pants so he wouldn't trip and injure his head again because while he no longer had a mummified head he still needed bandages and had to watch out for any signs of fever. He put on his socks and boots, shoving the dirty clothes inside out into the bag so they wouldn't stain the spare chest-corset and closed the bag up tight. 

   Right after Eli had done so a light flicked on and Eli froze, only moving to look up, expecting to see someone glaring down at him. But no one was there. Elijah realized a bit too late that the light was coming from _behind_ him, from the lantern. He turned around and it was…pulsing. The light shining and dimming. It shone with brightness of the sun and Eli had to look away. When he looked back it was back to its regular glow. 

  Except something was coming out of it.

   They looked like tiny glowing fireflies except that there were _thousands_ coming from the lantern, daintily fluttering down like little dandelion puffs. It was…beautiful. Some came toward him, other headed toward the camp, golden bits of candlelight drifting along. The ones that danced to him twirled around him, up and down his arms, over his face, on his neck causing him to giggle. What are these things? The back of his mind asked. He paid it no mind. They were so cute! He felt one creep from his face to his ear and flinched when he felt something rocket inside, slapping a hand over it with an "Ow!"

   "Are you alright?"

   Eli looked up with wide eyes. Somehow there was mist everywhere, making the golden bug's shine seem more like distant fire. The voice had come from the bridge and he squinted. Footsteps thudded on the bridge, loud as bombs in the silence. Hadn't the camp been full of chatter not too long ago?

   The lantern was now barely glowing, providing the barest amount of light, the mist shimmered beneath the glow. The figure walked closer, seeming to be shimmering himself, an unearthly glow about him as if he were the one glowing and not the lantern above. Eli couldn't breathe, he couldn't even sustain his weight and fell to his knees, barely aware of the tears streaming down his face.

   The figure reached him and knelt before him as well. His cheeks were rosey, black hair glossy and healthy, a warm smile on his face and eyes that seemed to smile as well and-oh. They really were green. "Are you alright?" He repeated gently, still smiling. 

  Only one croaked out word that resembled a sob escaped Eli's mouth, as if saying anything more would cause the man to crumble into nothing before his eyes. "Pa."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added more crew members than the movie had cause...did you see the size of that thing???? And they had only two hundred crew members running the whole thing?? I think not.  
> Let's see how much of an asshole I can make Merlin :) But hey, at least he don't hide his assholeness like Rourke did :)  
>  I love NotEnrique…he's like awesome. Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh, what am I missing? I've been editing and re-reading this. Oh yeah!!! I. Hate. School. Fuck me. I'm in special education right? (Cause I don't speak perfect Spanish =_=) And special education got my grade fucked up. Basically the work I do in that class is supposed to b counted as EXTRA points, EXTRA. So I only go there when I actually need help with a class right? So in Spanish class I had like perfect notes, literally, 100 in all my works. And then my report card I have a 59 =_= They decided to start counting the EXTRA points as an actual NOTE/GRADE WITHOUT TELLING ME :) :) :) This was last month and I STILL ain't over that!!! Like DAYMN!!!!!!!!! (Ugh, I just vent my ass off here, wtf am I going to therapy for then? XD)   
> Me: Lemme work on the two fanfics that I've neglected for like a month.   
> Also me: Nah m8, you're doing this.  
> Me: But why?   
> Also me: You gotta :)   
> Should I give that poor person who's arm I fucked up a name or what? They who shall remain nameless. XD And god I done given everyone a boo-boo. OH! SO NO ONE ASKS THIS, YES JIM HAS HIS LEGS (I'm paranoid that someone gunna think he lost them) He has them, they just...keeping it crispy...I'm sorry. Holy fuck that was so bad Imma cry!!!! I'm sorrryyyyy!!!!

**Author's Note:**

> Sooooooooooooooooooooooooo shit, ended chapter one with a cliffhanger. Opps.  
> So some might think that Eli might have made the wrong decision by telling the truth but come on. Could this angel really not feel like he should tell Blinky?? I would elaborate more but the 'b', 't', and 'g' tags are broken and it's so annoying to fill in. (Alt+116=t, Alt+98=b, Alt+103=g)  
> MY BRAIN HURTS!!!!!!!!!  
> Please comment and have a super day!!!!  
> Once again, HAPPY BIRTHDAY BENJAMIN!!


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